Winter Night Dance
by Lady Ava
Summary: Ed is attending the annual military ball with Winry as his date. Will he be able to enjoy his evening with her or will something haunting the back of his mind stop him from telling her how he really feels about her? RomanceAngst. EdxWinry & RoyxRiza
1. The Invitation

Winter Night Dance

By Lady Ava

**Author's Notes:** Hello everyone. It's me again and I come baring another FMA fanfic for you all. This is an Ed x Winry/ Slight Roy x Riza pairing. (Note: Ed is 16, as is Winry. Al is 15)

Onto the story…

**Chapter One**

The Invitation

Roy Mustang hated winter. There was nothing he found pleasant about it. Winter for Roy wasn't a sign of a happy holiday season or time with loved ones. To him, he only saw the negatives. Shoveling his car out from beneath piles of snow and having to wear layers upon layers of heavy and bulky clothing. Being the flame alchemist, of course it only seemed natural for him to hate it. It was harder for him to work his alchemy while his fingers where shaking and his teeth chattering in his head. But that wasn't the only reason.

Looking down at his desk, Roy curled his upper lip in disapproval in what he saw sitting there upon his paperwork. It was a tiny envelope, closed over with the silver seal of the military on the back. Upon the front, in delicate-looking writing was his name and office address. He dreaded opening that envelope, because he knew what was coming.

'Is it time for that already?' he asked himself in displeasure.

Hearing the door open, Roy looked up to see who broke him from his thoughts. To his surprise, he was met by the faces of three of his good friends: Maes Hughes, Jean Havoc, and Riza Hawkeye. All three, besides their daily paperwork, held similar envelopes to Roy's.

"Can you believe that it's already time for the Winter Ball?" Hughes stated happily, looking at his envelope with a huge grin. "Graica is gonna be so excited. She always loves the ball."

Havoc smiled, holding up his invitation as well, "This year I have a date. So, I won't be alone again." He told Hughes proudly, making Hawkeye roll her eyes slightly.

As he watched the two men speak in such a joyous manner about the military affair, Roy shook his head. 'I can't believe this. They are two grown men acting as if this was their senior prom in high school.' He thought to himself, not believing they were his subordinates.

"Why are you being so excited?" Roy finally asked, causing their conversation to halt, "This ball is just another boring attempt to win over the socialists of Central in order to gain more military funds." He leaned back into his chair, sighing, "Besides, it's always the same: Every. Single. Year."

Hughes let his eyes widen behind his thin glasses. He was surprised at his friend's words. Every year, Roy would show up with a beautiful woman on his arm as an escort. Then, for a great portion of the night, besides dancing with his date, Roy would network and talk to all the higher ranking officials. This was his way of getting in on a good note with all the higher-ups. Then, at the end of the night, he would leave with his lady friend to continue their night on the town.

"Roy," Hughes began with a smile, "This is the social event of the season. Everyone will be there. All state alchemists are required to attend. It's a military function in which superior officers can check up on the latest alchemy findings in a relaxed setting."

Roy scoffed at the statement and crosses his arms, "I realize what this ball is for. I've been to enough of them to know."

* * *

"Brother?" Al called quietly as he opened the door to the dorm room he and his brother shared. In his free hand, he held a bag filled with bagels and donuts in order to attempt to get his brother to eat. Earlier that morning, the youngest of the Elric brothers had discovered Ed hunched over Alchemy books, a small snore escaping him. Once again, as he always did at least twice a week now, Edward Elric had fallen asleep at the books. Granted, he was very anxious to find out more about the legendary stone, but he was starting to loose sleep over his obsession. 

Before Al had left to go get some form of breakfast for his brother, he had placed the young state alchemist into bed, giving him a more comfortable place to sleep. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched his older brother curl up under the thick quilts like a little child.

Stepping into the room, Al could hear the sound of the shower running from in the bathroom. Upon the bed, Al found his brother's clothes thrown messily on top the twisted sheets. On the end table, Ed's hair tie and silver pocket watch sat neatly, awaiting to be placed back in their rightful place.

"Brother?" Al called again, placing the bag down upon the desk. The armor looked towards the door, waiting some kind of reply.

"I'll be out in a second Al," the voice of Ed called over the running water.

Within a mere few moments, the sound of the water was silenced and there was moving about within the small bathroom. Then, in one swift and dramatic pull, the door opened, grabbing Al's attention.

Edward Elric stood in the doorway of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. Droplets of water clung to this bare chest and rolled down from his arms as he breathed. His long blond hair clung to his shoulders as his bangs dripped water from them onto his flesh foot below. His automail, being extremely waterproof, seemed to shine as brilliantly as if it were brand new. Ed took pride in keeping his metal limbs in the best condition, otherwise Winry would kill him.

Smiling broadly, the fullmetal alchemist moved into the room, heading towards the bed. "Morning Al," he said in a very lazy manner.

The armor watched as Ed shook his head out slightly, letting the water fly onto the floor and bed. "Brother!" Al shouted, sounding surprised, "You're getting everything wet!"

Stopping his head, Ed ran his hands through his hair, almost as if trying to attempt to brush out the knots. "Eh, it's not the end of the world if my bed gets a little wet." He told him, a slight smile on his face. He picked up his clothes and proceeded to dress, knowing that Al would simply turn while he did so.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Al noted, averting his gaze to the window.

Zippering his pants, Ed moved to grab his belt, "I accomplished a lot last night," he told happily, placing the larger of the two belts on first. "I found some interesting information on the way to prepare the materials for the stone." Grabbing his hair tie from the nightstand, Ed quickly threw his wet hair back into a ponytail. It was a rarity for Ed to wear his hair in a ponytail. He found it to be somewhat annoying to have his hair up like that unless he was working.

"As soon as I finishing eating, I'm gonna get back to work." Ed told his brother happily, placing his other belt onto this waist.

Sighing, Al looked back over at Ed. If it weren't for his armor shell, he would have given his brother a look of worry. "Perhaps you should take a break from working brother," the echoed voice spoke softly, causing the blond haired teen to halt placing his watch back onto his belt. "After all, you have been working almost every day and night since you we got back to central. You are gonna make yourself sick if you keep up what you're doing."

Glancing over his shoulder, Ed's golden eyes pierced through his wet hair. "I realize that Al. But I'm on the brink of something big here. I am so close to the stone, I can almost taste it. Besides---"

Knock Knock Knock….

The brothers silenced quickly at the sound of the tapping at their door. They looked at each other in question, wondering what the interruption was.

Knock Knock Knock…

"Mr. Elric?" a male voice called from the other side of the door. "Mr. Elric? Are you in? I have a message for you."

Ed raised an eyebrow to the voice. Normally, he would never receive messages from anyone unless it was from the Colonel, telling him that he did something wrong again. Thinking back, the blond thought over everything that he could have possibly done wrong to only come to no answer. Shaking his head slightly, Ed moved across the room and opened the door.

A young man of about 25 stood in the doorway, a look of question upon his face. He was somewhat surprised to see the younger alchemist without a shirt on and looking as if he had just rolled out of bed. In his hand, he held a small envelop with the crest of the military holding it shut. Over his arm, he held a large grey garment bag, making him look as if he had just gathered up someone's laundry.

Blinking in confusing, the soldier smiled weakly, "Mr. Elric?" he questioned, apparently not knowing who Ed was.

"Yeah. That's me." The teen told him flatly. An awkward silence hung in the air between the shocked young soldier and the spunky blond who gave him a look of disapproval. Pointing to the letter, Ed cleared his throat, "Is that for me?"

Shaking his head out slightly, the soldier nodded quickly, "Y—yes sir. This is your invitation to the Winter Ball a week from now." He explained, placing the letter into Ed's hand.

Looking at the letter, Ed couldn't help but raise his eyebrow again. He torn open the seal and withdrew the note inside. Sure enough, it was an elaborate invitation to a grand ball. And there, at the bottom, written in bold print, said the words:

"**All Nationally Certified Alchemists Must Attend." **

"All alchemists MUST attend!" Ed exclaimed, gaining his brother's attention from inside the room. Glaring back at the man, he held up the invitation and shook it slightly in the man's face. "What the hell! Why do all alchemist HAVE to attend!" he demanded.

Holding his hands up, the soldier gulped at Ed's fiery gold eyes that stared at him with rage, "It's…it's just a tradition," he staggered out, "Alchemists attend because they end up discussing their studies with the higher-ups and whatnot. Most of the time, they are trying to find ways to get grants."

Seeing the boy's look of displeasure continue on, the man cleared his throat to rid himself of the nerves. "This is the social event of the season. People would kill to be in your position right now, Mr. Elric. If you are invited to this ball, then you are on the A-list."

Rolling his eyes, Ed shook his head, "I don't care about being on any A-list!" Averting his gaze to the invitation once again, the boy sighed. 'If I don't go, the colonel will have my head. He wouldn't let me get out of this even if I begged and pleaded.' He thought to himself. Not like he would beg to the Colonel anyways. He wouldn't give Mustang that benefit of the doubt.

Sighing, Ed let his shoulders slump slightly, "Fine. Whatever. It seems like I have no choice BUT to go." He grumbled out.

The soldier smiled broadly, "Excellent then Mr. Elric. I'll report back to your supervisor at once." Suddenly, the man's eyes lit up, "Ah yes. Before I forget," Grabbing the bag off his arm, he placed it into Edward's arms. "Here is your uniform. Its been tailored to fit your size perfectly."

The fire that was in Ed eyes before erupted once again, "ARE YOU SAYING I'M SHORT!" he shouted, gaining the attention of the passer-byers in the hallway.

Backing up slightly, the man shook his head quickly, "No Mr. Elric! I was just saying that we tailored your uniform for you so you can wear it to the ball." He rambled out quickly, trying to cover himself from being murdered.

Seeing the man trembling in fear, Ed grinned, "Thanks." And with that, he shut the door, leaving the soldier to cower in the hall.

Al watched as his brother walked back towards his bed, letter in one hand and clothing in the other. He could see that there was a deep set of worry upon his face as he was re-reading the letter again and again.

"Brother? What is this about a ball?" he asked as Ed sat down on the bed. The armor had remained quiet during the duration of his brother's conversation with the soldier, pretending to be cleaning up the desk and whatnot while listening. Knowing his brother, he wouldn't be interested in going to something as grand as a military ball. But, because he had to attend, he would make the best of it.

Placing the invitation onto the table next to his bed, Ed ran a hand through his bangs, trying to get them out of his face, "I have to go to a military ball," he grumbled out, slumping over slightly. Resting his elbows to his knees, he placed his head into his hands. "And, I have to wear one of the uniforms."

Al moved away from the desk, moving to sit on the other side of the bed, "One of the military uniforms? But, I thought the Colonel said you would never have to wear one of them."

"Apparently, the Colonel is a liar," Ed quickly snapped back. Looking over at the garment bag, the teen grabbed hold of the zipper and proceeded to open it. There, sitting neatly inside, was a uniform almost identical to Roy's and just about everyone else he knew in the army. The only difference he could see was that he only had four bars on his coat, compared to the two rows Mustang and Armstrong had. Upon the shoulders, there were adornings that of a Major. In military terms, that was what Ed was. He was on an equal level to that of Armstrong. All Alchemists were that. The gold cording around the shoulder and arm sat pre-placed upon the outfit. A brand new pair of gloves clipped on to the collar of the jacket. In a bag attached to the top, there was a small note posted on it saying "Hat and boots." Everything was there to make Ed look like a true dog of the military.

Al looked at the uniform, and then at his brother. Upon his features, Ed wore a blank expression. For one of those rare moments in his life, Al could not read what his brother was thinking. There was a cold feeling in his eyes that could have meant his anger for having to wear the uniform. But, Al tried not to read into it too much.

Closing the bag back up, Ed looked back at Al. The empty armor shell was staring at him, as if trying to find an answer from him about what he was thinking. Of course he was upset about the uniform and the fact he had to go to the dance. And yet, in the back of his mind, another issue was plaguing him. Something he couldn't bring up to his brother in a flat out conversation.

"So, are you going to call Winry?" Al finally questioned, breaking the silence between them.

Feeling his face grow warm, Ed looked away from his brother, "W…why would I call Winry?" he mustered out, trying to hide his blushing face behind his bangs.

But, the younger of the two brothers knew that was something that would trigger a nerve with his brother. "Well, you're gonna need a date for this thing right? You don't wanna show up alone. The Colonel will have mocking rights for two months at the most." He explained, seeing Ed pick up the invite.

"And if I show up with Winry, he'll have the right to make fun of me until I die." He flatly retorted, trying to get off the subject. And yet, Ed couldn't see why he should not consider it. Of course he knew he would probably end up calling her about it. Why not just flat out ask her to accompany him as well?

Falling backwards onto the bed, Ed lay there holding the invite up above him. His gold eyes seemed to dart about the paper repeatedly as he kept re-reading what it said. There was a strange sensation growing within his chest as he began to think about his brother's suggestion more. His ponytail sprawled out around his head messily as his thoughts drifted away from the research he had been slaving over and to something else. He felt his cheeks begin to burn more and more as he thought of calling her.

Al watched his brother's eyes carefully. They slowly began to drift off into a dream-like state. Slowly, he saw Ed's face begin to glow a reddish pink. Across his lips, there was a soft smile that he tried to hide. Al had always known that Ed had liked Winry. He always tried to hide it, but it was always clear. He and Auntie knew that both he and Winry would never admit to liking each other, only because they didn't know what the other one would say.

"Brother?" he finally asked, causing Ed's eyes to widen slightly.

Clearing his throat, the blond quickly sat up and threw his ponytail over his shoulder. Rising to his feet, he quickly grabbed his black shirts and placed them upon his persona. Then, grabbing his pocket watch, he headed towards the door.

"I'm gonna go call Winry," he told Al quickly.

The younger of the brothers watched as the door shut behind Ed. As he heard the footsteps disappear down the hallway, he chuckled slightly. "About time…." He said aloud, moving to start cleaning up the mess his brother had left behind.

Author's Note: Please Read and Review  



	2. Phone Call

**Author's Notes**: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this. I'm glad there are other Ed/Winry fans out there. I'm going to try to update this as soon as I can. But it will probably be every 3-5 days. I'm working on this while doing school work.

But anyway, onto the next chapter.

**Chapter Two**

Phone Call

Ed stood quietly in one of the long corridors of headquarters. In his cool steel hand, he held the receiver to the phone and his other hand sat posed above the numbers. He was prepared to dial the number that he had called so many times and ask the girl he thought of as a sister to come all the way to Central to attend a ball. There was nothing out of the ordinary for something like that. After all, it wasn't like a date. It was more like a favor from one close friend to another close friend.

And yet, deep down within the pit of his stomach, the nerves were beginning to grow more and more. He felt his heart racing as his hand began to tremble slightly over the numbers. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that he heard the pounding of his heart echoing through the quiet hallway.

'Come on Ed,' he chanted to himself, 'You're being ridiculous. This is Winry. Only Winry…' Nodding slightly, he grinned as he pushed down the first few numbers.

Suddenly, a small voice echoed in the back of his mind, 'Yeah. You'll be able to have Winry here with you. And see those beautiful eyes and hold her close as you dance the night away.' It spoke tauntingly, as if it knew the actual truth.

Slamming the phone down, Ed turned away and hit against the wall hard. He stared up at the ceiling, and took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

'This shouldn't be this hard,' he found himself saying silently.

"Gracia told me that she was excited for the ball," Hughes smiled broadly as he walked along the hallways with Havoc. The blond haired man just smirked at Hughes' happy comments about the ball. After all, that was all he was talking about the entire morning. What Havoc found even more entertaining about it was that Roy actually threatened Hughes to leave his office by way of flames in order to shut him up about the ball.

Reaching into his coat pocket, Havoc retrieved a pack of his cigarettes. Placing one into his mouth, he proceeded to look for his matches, "Yeah. It should be entertaining." He grumbled, patting his chest.

Adjusting his glasses upon his nose slightly, the black haired man gave a small chuckle, "I wish Elisa was old enough to attend. I think she would look so cute in a little dress and her hair all done up like her mom's." he spoke dreamily.

During these moments in time, everyone knew it was better not to question Hughes and just agree with him. Havoc was no exception only because he learned his lesson the hard way. It was over something so trivial that he had forgotten it. But, Hughes ended up carrying on for at least a good forty-five minutes about how brilliant his little girl was. It was standard to think that your child was bright, but to call her a child prodigy at the age of three, Havoc just couldn't come to terms with that. But still, he bit his tongue and let it go.

As the two men came to turn the corner, Havoc halted in his steps. Looking down the hallway, he noticed the young blond haired alchemist leaning against the wall, his face full of distress. Ed looked like he had paled a great deal as if he was going to be sick. His eyes were closed with his head tilted up, letting his ponytail fall over his shoulders.

Hughes took notice of the boy as well, "Ed!" he called down the hallway, raising his hand into the air. "Hey Ed!" But the boy didn't even move. He remained perfectly still as the two men approached him.

'This is weird,' Hughes thought to himself as he and Havoc walked, 'I wonder if something's wrong.'

"This shouldn't be this hard…." Ed muttered quietly, forming his hands into fists as the men approached him. The alchemist was trembling slightly as he kept his eyes closed. Hughes and Havoc could only stare at each other with looks of question on their faces as they stopped before the teen and studied him. They had never seen Ed in such a state before, as if the world was going to end.

Opening his eyes, Edward looked forward, right at the two older men, "Damnit, I'll just call her!" he shouted, not even realizing he was being stared at until it was too late to take the words back. Ed looked directly into the faces of two of his higher-ups and felt his face grow extremely warm. His golden eyes widened in surprise as the men stared at him, small grins growing upon their faces.

"Uh…I…" Ed stammered out, trying desperately to let his reddening face subside with no such success.

Looking over at Havoc, Hughes let his smile grow even more. "Now this is something I thought I would never see from him," he told his companion mischievously. Letting his eyes glance back over to Ed, the man nudged him slightly, "Edward Elric….trying to call a girl for a date."

But Ed shook his head franticly, "Its not what it looks like! I was just trying to," he started.

"Call a girl to see if she would go with you to the ball." Havoc finished the statement; his grin was equally at large as Hughes'. Seeing Ed's now glowing red face, the blond haired man let out a small chuckle, "Don't be embarrassed Ed. We're just messing with you." He said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "So, who is the lucky girl?"

Ed didn't smile or move an inch. He wore an expression of complete and utter seriousness as the two men awaited an answer. His gold eyes aimed towards the floor, letting his bangs fall to hide his face.

Hughes let his smile fade as Ed's expression became clearer to him. "Edward, who is it?" he questioned, becoming slightly concerned.

Biting his lip, the youth withdrew a long, drawn-out breath. Looking up at the two men, who were now towering over him, Ed gulped slightly. "It's….It's Winry…" He muttered quietly, feeling as if his face couldn't turn any redder.

Havoc almost let his cigarette fall from his lip at the mention of the name. His eyes widened as he continued to stare at the young man in shock. From all the times he had seen Ed deal with Winry, there was nothing but a tension between them. Whether it be screaming or the throwing of tools, they always seemed to be at each other throats. Taking his eyes from Edward, Havoc turned to Hughes, almost certain he would see the same look of surprise he had.

And yet, the Lt. Colonel didn't have an expression of surprise or shock upon his features. Instead, there was a small smile creeping up on the sides of his lips. His eyes were soft and seemed to be filled with understanding towards the boy's situation. Granted, Havoc knew Edward pretty well, but it was Hughes that knew him better than anyone else.

"I see." The black haired man spoke quietly, causing Ed to look up at him slightly.

Taking in a deep breath, Hughes moved closer to the short blond so that he was directly in front of him. He could see that Ed was trying to avoid his gaze even more, seeing that he was moving closer to him. But, never the less, Hughes remained where he was.

"I understand your position Edward," he finally spoke, his voice quiet so that only he, Havoc, and Ed could hear him.

Looking up even more and exposing his flustered face to the Lt. Colonel, Ed joined Havoc with the shocked expressions, "I….I don't know how to ask her. I don't know if she'll say yes. And if she doesn't…" His voice seemed to trail off, casting his eyes off to the side.

Hughes looked back at Havoc, who had relaxed somewhat. He smirked slightly at his higher-up, as if he too felt the boy's pain. Both of these men had almost seemed to forget about that first time way back in their high school days of asking that pretty girl out on a date for the first time. Granted, Havoc still had to do it every now and then, but he had almost seemed to get used to the rejection, unless it was because of the Colonel stealing his date. The happiness of getting her to say yes and the sad heartbreak of her saying no hung in the back of their minds as both men looked back at Edward.

"Ed, I know Winry well enough to know that she will not say no to you," Hughes finally said, grabbing the boy's attention.

Frowning slightly, Ed began to open his mouth in protest, "But—"

"There are no buts Edward," Havoc added on, "Just call her and ask. Make it sound very casual." He grinned slightly, breathing in on his cigarette.

Looking at the two men, Ed felt his nerves begin to diminish. It wasn't the end of the world that he was calling Winry for a date. She probably wouldn't think of it as anything more than getting him out of being alone at something that would probably prove to be nothing more than just a fun night out with a girl that he had cared about since the day he met her.

Straightening up, the blond alchemist smiled broadly, "You're right," he told them, causing the two older soldiers to relax more. "There is no harm in this, right?"

"Exactly," Hughes agreed with a smirk. Reaching over to the phone, he took it off the receiver and held it out to Edward. "Go on. Call her."

Without a moment's hesitation, Ed took it from Hughes and turned around to face the numbers. Taking a deep breath in, he began to dial Winry's number swiftly. He kept his eyes focused on the number pad as Hughes and Havoc stood back, watching him carefully. Dialing in the last digit, Ed pulled his hand away and placed it into his pocket.

_Ring…._

'I'll be fine,' he thought to himself.

_Ring…._

'Just ask her and it will be as easy as anything else you've done.'

_Ring…._

'….why isn't she picking up?'

_Ring…._

Gritting his teeth together, Ed felt his temper starting to rise, "Damnit Winry. Pick up your stupid pho—"

"Rockbell Automail! This is Winry speaking, how can I help you?" The cheerful voice filled his ear as he cut himself off from saying something he might regret in the end.

Ed froze for a moment at the sound of the girl's voice, almost as if every ounce of confidence had escaped him. He stood there in silence, unable to get the words out of his mouth in order to speak to her.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" her voice asked to the silence that was being presented to her on Ed's end of the line.

Shaking his head slightly, Ed swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Clearing his mind of the unnerving thoughts, he found his voice again, "Uh, Winry?" he questioned slightly to her, not used to hearing her perky voice.

"Edo?" She questioned back, "Edo…is that you?" her voice was filled with a soft sound of shock in her tone. It almost seemed that she was in disbelief that he was actually calling her.

Smiling slightly, Ed felt himself relax even more, "Yeah. It's me. How are things going?" he asked quietly, looking over his shoulder. Hughes and Havoc gave him a small nod of encouragement, making Ed seem to be slightly more embarrassed than before. Trying to not blush again, he turned back to his conversation.

"Ed, you sound weird," Winry stated bluntly, causing Ed to raise an eyebrow.

"Weird? I just asked how you were." He retorted, slightly offended.

But the girl sighed, "What do you need? Every time you call here, you usually need something. So which limb is acting up?"

Frowning at her comments, Ed growled, "I'm not calling for a repair job. I'm calling to—"

"Have you outgrown your leg again? Remember, even the fewest inches can make it unstable." She cut him off, sounding more annoyed.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SO SHORT THAT I'M TINY COMPARED TO A GRAIN OF SAND?" he exploded, causing Hughes and Havoc to jump back.

The two men stood in silence with wide eyes as watched the young alchemist flail about wildly, shouting and arguing with the girl he was so scared to call all of 5 minutes ago. They both seemed utterly confused at the current turn of events. Nodding to each other, they thought it best to move back towards where they had entered this whole situation and wait for the insults to stop flying over the phone. Moving quickly and unnoticed, Hughes and Havoc darted around the corner.

Havoc was first to peer his head around the corner, "Do they do this often?" he questioned, a hint of fear in his voice.

Mimicking his subordinate, Hughes adjusted his glasses slightly, "I think its how they show they care," he paused to see Ed slam his fist into the wall out of a comment that seemed like she had compared him to a tiny little flea. Gulping slightly, he laughed nervously, "I could always be wrong on that. Don't quote me."

"Gotcha…" Havoc retorted as he continued watch the scene from a safe distance.

Within a mere minute of exchanging insults in between each other, Ed found himself punching the wall in frustration, "I knew I shouldn't have called you! This was stupid in the first place. This dumb ball…" his voice trailed off, realizing what he had just said.

"A…..ball?" the girl's voice questioned, seeming to forget about the argument as if it never happened.

Feeling his heart sink slightly, Ed sighed into the phone. Leaning onto the receiver, he placed his head upon the cool metal hoping that it would get rid of his headache that was starting to form from this whole situation. In a way he blamed the Colonel for this, only because Ed would find one reason or another to blame him.

"Yeah," he began bluntly, "I have been invited to the annual winter ball here in Central in about a week or so. It's mandatory that I attend and I was hoping that you might want to go with me."

It took Ed a moment to realize what exactly had happened. After all that drama he put himself through to try to find the courage to ask Winry, he had managed to ask her in his regular tone as if they were discussing the weather. And now, he had thrown it out there to the girl and all he could do was wait. He felt his heart moving slightly into his throat as she was silent on the other end of the phone as the question was being thought through.

Winry took in a deep breath, finally breaking the silence she had given him for at least a minute or so. "Ed….I'm…This is…" she stammered slightly, searching for the words to say. At last, she had settled on her final words. "I would love to go with you."

Ed's face lit up at the sound of her answer. Of late, the large smile that spread across his face was a rarity, seeing how he was always busy. "Really?" he asked, just making sure she wasn't pulling his chain on this whole situation.

The girl's voice giggled sweetly. "In all honesty, I never thought I would ever get a phone call like this from you of all people Ed."

"Eh?" He asked.

Winry laughed even more, ignoring his comment. Letting the girlish giggle subside, she became more relaxed again. "I'll be in Central in a few days. I'll call you to let you know when I will be arriving."

Nodding to her words, Ed regained his cocky-like grin once again. "Alright. I'll let Al know you're coming. He'll be glad to see you."

And with that, both teens exchanged goodbyes and the worries the young alchemist had were put to rest. Placing the phone back on the receiver, Ed lowered his head for a moment, taking in what was said and the situation he had just put himself him. Winry had agreed to be his escort to the ball. The one girl that he saw in his dreams every night. Her smile that no matter what he went through made him feel somewhat better. It was because he knew she was there for him.

Backing away from the phone, Edward jumped into the air, "She said YES!" he screamed, acting out of his original stature of not liking to show too much of his feelings. His hair tangled around him as he jumped about, making it messy and whatnot. But at that very moment, Edward Elric didn't care.

Hughes and Havoc removed themselves from their place of 'cover' and hurried over to the boy. "Congrats Ed." Havoc said happily, his regular smirk returning to his face.

"We told you she would say yes." Hughes added on, patting the boy on the back.

Looking up at the two men, Ed kept his smile going strong. "Yeah, now that part one is out of the way, its time to settle the second part of this whole thing."

The two older men looked at the boy with questions on their faces, "There's something else besides asking Winry?" Hughes questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Nodding, Ed sighed, "I have the date. Thanks to Mustang, I have the outfit," he paused, staring Hughes straight in the eye, "…..Can…. Can you teach me how to dance?"

**Author's Note**: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please read and review


	3. One Step At A Time

**Author Note**: I'm really sorry that this too so long everyone. My motivation decided to take a break for the past month. (In other words; hello writer's block! I blame the soon release of Kingdom Hearts II. My gears have switched over to that.)But I promise that I will finish this story. It's been in my head for so long that I just can't help but NOT wanna finish it.

ANYWAYS! It's short but somewhat sweet! But here is Chapter 3. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

One Step At A Time

The fringed breeze of the late afternoon blew gently upon the rolling hills of Rizenpool. It was almost as if a painting being created with every passing moment. The sky was a mixture of reds, oranges, pinks, and fading blues as the sun began to set upon the horizon. The men were returning home from work that day, being greeted by their families happily. Smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of the scattered out houses, showing that dinner time was approaching quickly. There was a light layer of frost upon the grassy hills as the bitter wind blew through.

Winry gazed out of her bedroom window at the icy landscape. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a low-slung ponytail that hung over her shoulders gracefully. She wore an oversized sweatshirt, with her jumpsuit still around her tiny waist. Her gloves and bandana had been removed from her persona after her work had been completed for the day.

She wore a slightly content look upon her delicate features as she smiled at the sights of her small country town. The light from the setting sun flooded her room, giving it a warm feeling. On her bed, her suitcase sat packed, ready to leave for Central the next morning. On the back of her door, hung a garment bag that held her dress for the night that had been visiting her in her dreams every night.

Glancing away from the window, Winry looked towards her desk. There was a great deal of paperwork there. Different automail orders, appointments, payment slips, her calendar, marked with different important dates and other such things. Small pieces of different styles of automails sat separated among the different papers seemingly have been played with in certain ways to try to make them operate better for a future user.

And there, among the work-related things, sat something that was more important than any automail part or slip of paper. It was a small photograph in a simple black steel frame. It was taken perhaps two years ago, when Ed had returned for a tune-up. Winry was leaning on top of his head smiling a sweet smile as Ed sat below her, smirking his normal 'know it all' grin. It almost seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary. That everything was so simple.

Moving to her desk, Winry took the small photo in her hands. She stared at it carefully, running her fingers around the edge of the frame. The photo was something she looked at every day, and she normally wouldn't pay it to any mind. It was just a photo of her and Ed. The boy that had somehow managed to cross her mind more that once every day since the day he had left home.

'Tomorrow Edo,' she thought to herself, 'Tomorrow, I'm heading to Central. Then, the day after that,' a small grin appeared on the corner of her lips, 'I'll be with you, on your arm, going to a ball.'

"Winry!" the voice of her grandmother called, breaking her train of thought. "Winry! Come down for dinner!"

Placing the picture back onto her desk, Winry headed towards the door, "I'm coming!" she shouted back, spinning around in a small twirl as she headed out.

* * *

The streetlamps were beginning to flicker on and off as the sun vanished over the city of Central. Along the sidewalks, there were trances of snow still left along the gutter. It seemed to glow a pinkish orange from the light of the lamps and the sun sinking into the sky. Cars drove quickly down the roads, their engines echoing into the cool early night air. As the people walked along, huddled under their heavy winter coats and hats, the light smoke that was their breaths could be seen billowing out from the redden noses and chapped lips. It was the average winter night in Central City. Very average; except for the screams of pain emitting from the Hughes' household. 

Gracia sat down on one of her dining room chairs with a heavy sigh. Her once organized living room had been re-done in a not so traditional look of chaos and confusion. Everything from her couch to the coffee table had been pushed off to the sides and her beautiful floor rug was rolled up and pushed into a corner. In short, it looked like it had exploded.

Hughes stood off to the side of the room, the same tired look as his wife on his face. Ed had started this whole 'dance boot camp' early that morning. Seeing how the boy was a genius in the field of alchemy, he had thought that a simple task of learning how to dance would have been nothing but child's play. Instead, Gracia, who had agreed to help out Edward by being his partner, had her feet stepped on, tripped, stumbled and fell over so many times she was happy to still be in one piece.

"That was….better than before Edward," Hughes stated as he paused the waltz that they had been practicing with. "You only stepped on her foot once. That's a huge improvement."

Ed moved to one of the large armchairs. There was a huge look of disappointment upon his features as he flopped down into the chair. He threw his hair over his shoulder as he couldn't help but play with it slightly.

Gracia, though despite her throbbing feet, rose from her chair. "Edward, please don't be so disappointed. Learning to dance just isn't easy for some people." She spoke softly, moving towards the boy.

Hughes leaned against the wall, smiling slightly, "She's right. You should have seen her trying to teach me the waltz before our wedding. It was a very frightening sight." He joked, attempting to raise the boy's spirits. Seeing his expression only become more depressed, Hughes tried again, "Maybe Winry gave you two left feet by accident." He chuckled, which was quickly silenced by his wife's glare.

Ed looked up at Gracia, trying to force a smile out. "I'm really trying, but this just weird. I never thought I would have to learn anything like this." He admitted sheepishly. "I always thought this would be easy," he continued as Mrs. Hughes sat on the arm of his chair, "You take her by the hand and spin her around a little bit. Bow and then you're done. Not all this," He held up his hand, 'One two three' stuff." As he counting, three automail fingers popped up to stress his point more.

Laughing slightly, Gracia placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Edward," she began, her warm smile making Ed blush slightly, "Dancing isn't just about moving to the beat of a song."

Sitting up in the chair, Ed's ears almost seemed to perk in shock. "Then what is it about?"

Smiling a shy smile, Gracia closed her eyes. "It's a moment that can help change your life with that special someone." Opening her eyes slightly, she looked towards her husband, who was turned an ever so lovely shade of red. Rising from her chair, she moved quickly across the living room and reached out for Hughes' hands, "After all, that's how Maes proposed to me."

The man smiled slightly as he took the woman's hands in his own. "Ah yes. I remember it well." He sighed almost dream-like. "We danced for hours flawlessly."

"If you count the 6 times you stepped on my feet and almost broke my heels." Gracia chimed in, causing the sparkle in Hughes' eyes to quickly leave. He cleared his throat while shifting on his feet uneasily as the woman and younger man chuckled at him.

Letting the laughter subside, Ed watched the couple smile and laugh happily. He never really noticed just how much love Hughes had for his wife. Granted, him and just about the entire Central office knew just how much he loved his little girl, but this was the first time he never saw him spaz out while she was around. They looked like they would have many long years together until the very end of it all. That thought made him smile more than anything.

It wasn't until the thought of Winry came back to his mind that Gracia's words replayed themselves in his mind. '_Special moment…change your life…_. Could it really do that for me and Winry?' the thought crossed his mind so incredibly quickly and it almost seemed like a dream. The thought of being to have the girl he had always admired being impressed with him over just trying to be a normal young man made Ed smile slightly.

"Edward?" the sound of Hughes' voice asked, making the young man snap back to attention. He looked up at the couple, who had smiles crossing their lips slightly. "You ready to start again?"

Rising to his feet, Ed tossed his hair over his shoulder and then began to roll up his sleeves as he moved past the two individuals. "I'm ready. Let's keep going."

* * *

The clock tower of the Central Headquarters struck eleven that evening as Ed waved goodbye to Hughes. The man insisted that he took Ed back, considering how the streets of Central weren't safe at night, even though the boy proclaimed that he was very capable of handling any thugs and muggers that the city could throw at him. Never the less, Edward appreciated the ride. His whole body seemed to ache and he felt like he would never be able to get out of bed again if he attempted to lay down. 

As he turned to walk up the stairs of the dorm buildings, Ed glanced up towards where his room was. There was a low light still flickering slightly. The soft glow stuck out like a sore thumb against the remaining dark windows. He knew Al would be waiting up for him, ready to ask about how the lessons went. And that he would ask how he did and if he would still step on Winry's feet if he tried to waltz with her. Sighing at the thought, Ed began to climb the stairs with some issues. His muscles ached even more so than his first few training sessions with Izumi. And that was a lot of pain to surpass.

'Man I'm exhausted.' He thought as he reached the main doors after what seemed like climbing a mountain. Pulling the doors opened quickly, he moved into the lobby.

The room was large with large oak desks that were used for guest check-ins and mail delivery. The walls had the banners of military hanging off to the sides of two hallways, one that lead to the female dorms and one to the men's. The sounds of Ed's shoes echoed slightly as he moved towards the center of the room, who floor was decorated with beautiful marble designs. Having no one around in the lobby at that hour was no surprise to the young alchemist. He was used to coming back from a late night of studying to find no one there.

Looking around slightly, confirming to himself that no one was around, Ed found a small smile cross his lips. He felt proud of all the hard work he had done that day, knowing that he somehow managed to not step on Gracia's feet anymore and picked up on the waltz a bit easier. The thought of being able to have that moment with Winry, where he could hold her close and not want to let go was a good motive for him to pick up the pace and learn what he thought he couldn't get.

'Tomorrow,' he thought to himself, closing his eyes, 'Tomorrow she'll be here.' Swaying slightly, Ed found his feet starting to move under him as if they had a mind of their own. Holding his arms up as if he was holding onto someone, the blond began to repeat the steps from earlier that evening. From his smile, he hummed a soft tune that was something that just kind of popped into his mind. In his mind, he saw Winry there, smiling at him as if there was not a worry or care in the world. And it was only them.

"Fullmetal? What on earth are you doing?"

The sound of the familiar voice made Ed halt in his tracks and his eyes fly opened to a wide position. His hair fell over his shoulder as he stood frozen in his steps. An icy chill ran down his spine as the sound of boots walking towards him echoed throughout the hall.

'Oh no….not…' the blond thought, dread on every single word as he turned on his heels.

Sure enough, standing over him with a look of pure twisted joy was Colonel Roy Mustang. He looked as smug as always, his hair perfectly styled back in its slicked back position. His uniform was pressed and crisp-looking like it had just been brought back from the cleaners, every metal, bar, and star in perfect position.

Towering over the youth, Roy continued to let the smile come onto his face. "What….were you doing, Fullmetal?" he asked, a slight taunt etched upon the words.

"Not…nothing Colonel!" Ed found himself sputtering out wearily. He felt flustered as he watched the older man's eyes pierce through him. "I was….uh…"

Roy sighed slightly, letting his arms cross over his chest. "Settle down Edward. I won't say anything to anyone," he found himself chuckling.

Edward found himself feeling red in the face as his superior officer laughed at his stupidity. Sure, he let his guard down and let himself get caught up in the worst possible scenario. Now, all he could do was stand there and wait on the crude remark that was going to follow that smug laugh of the older man.

"Let me guess," Roy began, straightening up. He looked Ed up and down briefly as he stepped away and walked slowly towards the door. "You have just gotten back from Hughes' house from your dance lesson;" he glanced over his shoulder, an evil twinkle in his eyes "Am I correct?"

Ed nodded as he grumbled out a "Yes sir."

Turning on his heels, Roy placed a hand to his chin. "The reason you asked Hughes for the dance lessons is because you asked a girl to the ball and you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of her or the rest of the military." He rambled. Roy could see the boy cringe at how accurate he was hitting the nail on the head.

"So you know everything I do? Are you happy or something?" Ed snarled like a dog that had been backed into a corner. "It just proves you have no life….sir."

Ignoring the remark, Roy turned once again to head towards the door, making sure that he would be long gone before the fullmetal boy could run after him. "Don't worry about it Edward. I'm sure you'll impress Winry no matter what." Roy muttered as he walked out the door.

If he could feel anymore humiliated, Ed would have been the same color of his coat. He watched as Roy walked away through the courtyard towards the parking garage. Gritting his teeth as he saw the man disappear, Ed tossed his hair over his shoulder. "Stupid Mustang. Who does he think he is, my father?" He muttered aloud as he made way to his room for the night.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the briefness of it all. But this was all I could drill out of my head. The story I think will finally get back into some kind of swing once I watch a few more episodes again.

Anyways, please read and review ** 3**


	4. Reunion

**Author's Notes**: Ah yes. Here we are. Chapter four for all you! I hope you all enjoy it. Also, thank you so much for all the kind reviews! It really means a lot to me to know that everyone is enjoying the story so far. So, let's keep the EdxWinry love going strong!

**Chapter Four**  
Reunion

Central Station was always a hectic place in the mornings. There were businessmen and women hurrying along with their cups of coffee and newspapers, trying to make their trains on time. Station venders would be trying to bring in customers with the smells of fresh drinks and donuts filling the air. Young boys stood shouting beside the newspaper carts, trying to earn money by selling the daily news. The loudspeakers echoed the calls of times and tracks for the different trains every five minutes. It was all a daily routine for those who came here every weekday morning.

Havoc leaned against a pillar in the station, puffing on his morning cigarette slowly. He never understood why people would put themselves through the daily grind like this just to go please a higher up. Then again, he was technically doing the same thing with the Colonel: Get his paper, get his coffee and get his paperwork. In the overall picture, he really wasn't anything but a secretary for his higher up.

Sighing slightly, Havoc placed his cigarette back between his lips and shoved his hands into his pockets. He had only met Winry once before. She had come to see Ed in the hospital and he was dropping off some paperwork for Ed fill out about his injuries. (which the boy was less than thrilled with.) But what he didn't understand was way he did not come with him to retrieve her.

"Mr. Havoc!" a light and happy voice called over the bustle of the crowds. Straightening up, the blond hair man smiled as he watched a familiar face approach him quickly. She was the same girl he remembered seeing last. She wore a pair of work jeans with a simple yellow top, which was hidden mostly by her heavy short black coat. Over her shoulder, she held a large garment bag and in her other hand, a small suitcase.

Removing his cigarette from his mouth, Havoc dropped it to the ground and stepped on it. Making sure it was completely out, he walked quickly around the people to help the girl with her luggage.

"Good morning Winry," he said with a smile. Taking the large bag from her without even a word of asking, Havoc hoisted it over his shoulder. "Did you have a good trip?"

The girl smiled in thanks at the man's actions. Rolling her shoulder slightly, Winry tossed her hair a bit. "Long as always. But it's worth it to get a chance to come back to Central."

Looking about, Winry hoped to see some sign of Al or Ed with the military man. She glanced around at the crowds of people, trying to see if she could catch a glance of that familiar red coat and blond hair that she had been thinking about for a good portion of the morning.

"Did Ed and Al come with you?" She asked, finally looking back to Havoc who stood quietly watching her oddly.

Gulping in fear of that question being asked, Havoc could only sigh, "He's back at the dorms. I think he might still be asleep."

For the next ten minutes as Havoc escorted Winry back to the car, all that could be heard was the loud screams of the furious blond. She proceeded to shout how she would march herself into his room and remove his arm from his shoulder to teach him a lesson that he would never forget. Or how he had the nerve to sleep in when she came in to see him. She swore to Havoc that there would be bloodshed when she saw the short blond boy.

And all Havoc could do was reach into his coat pocket and withdraw another cigarette and his lighter. Lighting it with one hand, he took in a deep breath and exhaled the sweet smoke. He had only spent ten minutes with the girl, and she had already driven him to his second one of the morning. That was the first time that ever happened.

* * *

"Brother!" Al called happily as he came into the room. Once again, he had with him some form of breakfast food for his older brother to munch on. This time, it was a large cup of what looked like strong coffee and some kind of breakfast sandwich. He didn't hesitate to close the door loudly, for he was purposely trying to cause a lot of noise. Granted, just walked with the suite of armor could wake up the whole dorm floor sometimes. But this time he meant every loud step. 

Coming completely into the room, the younger of the Elric brothers sighed to see a large lump still under the covers of the bed. It was snoring softly with the occasional movement to roll over.

Placing the food onto the desk, Al moved next to the bed, "Brother! Wake up!" he shouted, soundly slightly distressed. "Winry will be here real soon and you don't want her to catch you in bed still!"

Ed rolled back over to face his brother with a loud yawn. Cracking open one of his golden eyes, he stared the large suit of armor in the eye, "I still have a few hours before she gets here. So let me sleep for them." And with that, he rolled back over.

Crossing his giant arms, Alphonse breathed out like he was wearing a large grin on his face. Taking one large step backwards, he moved towards the window and glanced outside. Sure enough, just like he had been told, a large black car had pulled up to the dorm building. Havoc had stepped out of the driver's side and moved around to the other side of the car. Opening the door, the familiar profile of the girl mechanic from Rizenpool hopped out of the happily, looking up at the massive building.

Looking back to his sleeping brother, he chuckled slightly. "Then why is Havoc outside helping Winry with her luggage right now?"

Before Al could even say another word or laugh, the sheets and comforter flew off the bed and the sight of Ed in his sleep attire flew through the air and over to the window. He stumbled slightly as he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up for a better look. Sure enough, to the young man's dismay, there stood Winry with her luggage, looking around at the building as if trying to remember which window was theirs. She had a slightly annoyed look upon her usually sweet features, which could only mean one thing for Ed: a wrench to the face.

"Damn!" He cursed aloud as he moved away from the window and over to his chest of draws. While rummaging through his clothes in search of a towel, he began shouting. "Why didn't you wake me up Al!"

"I tired too. But you didn't even come to when I shook you." The armor protested, acting somewhat hurt. "Besides, it's not my fault you couldn't get to sleep until three am last night!"

Finally finding a clean towel, Ed slammed the drawer shut and quickly made his way into the bathroom. "Nevermind! Fighting isn't gone solve my problem of her hitting me with a wrench for not coming to meet her at the station." He shouted, closing the door and locking it behind him.

* * *

Havoc placed Winry's belongings down onto her bed in the empty room. Ed had made the request that she had her own room in the dorms so that she wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous hotel prices of Central. The room was identical to Ed's with everything in the same place as always. The window overlooked the massive parade ground, which was still covered with a light layer of snow. 

"Ed's room is right down the hall from here," Havoc explained, handing the key to Winry.

Smiling evilly, Winry went over her to her luggage. "Let me just get my present for him." Rummaging through the small suitcase, the girl quickly withdrew a large wrench that seemed to shimmer in the low lit room.

Taking a step back from the girl in fear, Havoc let his jaw drop. Remembering back to the phone conversation Ed had with this young woman not even a week ago, he didn't put it past her to do what she had rambled about in the train station. Hell, he didn't want to put it past her that she would hit him with the wrench if the opportunity presented itself.

"Alright!" Winry spoke up happily, "Let's go!"

Watching her walk towards him, Havoc put his hands up slightly, "Just…just a minute Winry." He stuttered out, causing the girl to stop in her tracks. "Ed has been really busy the past few days. That's why he's probably still asleep." He blurted out, hoping to find a sympathy factor to use on the girl. "He's been over at the Hughes residence for hours every day, trying to learn how to dance for the ball."

Winry's expression quickly softened at the man's words. Lowering her wrench slightly from surprise, she stared at Havoc with a very gentle stare, "He's….learning to dance? For the ball?" she asked.

Havoc nodded, "Yeah. He really wanted to do it. It was all his idea." He continued to blab out, knowing that he had probably saved Ed from death by wrench.

Turning around on her heels, Winry went back to put her tool back into the suitcase. As she placed under the clothes that sat slightly messed, she let a small smile come to her lips. In all the years she had known Edward Elric, this was the only thing that she could remember him doing for her that didn't involve some kind of alchemy. There was no science in this and no pointless banter. He wanted to learn how to dance for her so that he wouldn't embarrass himself the night of ball.

Moving back to the door, she walked right past a frightened Havoc and into the hallway. "I'm gonna go see Ed and Al. Thank you again for the help Mr. Havoc." She said sweetly as she headed down the hall, leaving the poor soldier stunned and a tad confused.

* * *

_Knock…Knock…Knock_

Al looked up from the papers on Ed's desk and glanced over at the door. He sat for a moment, unsure if he had heard the sound or not. Not wanting to be rude if someone had knocked, he rose from his chair. "Who's there?" he called, moving towards the door.

"It's me Al! Winry!" a happy sounding voice called from the other side of the door. There was no hint of anger in her voice at all, making the large suit of armor all the more nervous.

Gulping slightly, he opened the door slowly, trying to act as casual as possible. Winry stood there, her hands behind her back with a smile on face. She looked up at him, a calm expression on her face. "Morning Winry." Al said flatly, trying to remain as calm as he could.

"Hi Al," she began, moving into the room. She walked and looked around slightly. Just like the last time she was here, everything was the same. Ed's desk was just as messy as ever, papers, notes, and books scattered everywhere. His bed looked like a hurricane had come through, the sheets and pillows almost falling all over the floor. The end table next to the bed had his small alchemy journal and pocket watch resting neatly next to a small lamp. Beside them, sat the small oil container she had bought for him to keep his automail working to its highest quality. Over the back of his desk chair, sat his red coat and clothes for the day.

Turning back to face Al, the girl smiled, "Where's Ed? I wanted to see if he wanted to go shopping and then maybe get a tune-up for his automail." She asked looking around the room. "I haven't seen him in a while, so I brought some of my tools with me. He's probably in need of some looking over."

Al heard the water turn off in the bathroom, causing him to become a little bit more stiffened. He looked down at the girl and then over towards the door, "Well, Ed is uh-"

"Hey Al," the sound of Ed's voice called as the door slowly opened to the bathroom. Winry and Al both looked over to see the source of the call. Ed stepped into the room, running a spare towel over his hair. His body was still soaked from the shower as he stood there, dripping on the wood floor. Around his waist was the second towel he had grabbed before he had thrown himself into the shower not even fifteen minutes ago. His automail limbs were shining brightly from the water and he continued to dry this hair without realizing present company.

Tossing the towel off his head, Ed quickly shook his head out, "Have seen the oil Winry left for my auto-" he paused quickly, realizing that there was one more person in the room.

Winry stood there for a moment, her eyes somewhat wide. She felt her heart slightly skip a beat as she watched those familiar gold eyes lock with her own. She had seen him in his boxers before when they had to do automail repairs and whatnot, so she thought this wouldn't have bothered her at all. And yet, she couldn't help but notice his broad shoulders and just how well toned his muscles were along his stomach. She felt her face grow warm as she quickly averted her eyes to the ground.

"Hiya Ed," she muttered quickly, noticing just how interesting his end table had become.

Ed gulped slightly as he placed his towel around his neck, and let his wet hair fall somewhat unkempt around his shoulders. "I…uh…I" was all he could manage to stutter out as he glared at Al angrily for not calling to him to say that she was in their room.

As the young alchemist reached for words to find to say anything, he watched as Winry suddenly moved around his bed and to where he had put his pocket watch the night before. He raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering why she would be going after that thing at such a time. He was already mortified enough, but to have to have fight over his watch at a time like this?

And yet, he watched as she grabbed something else from the table and moved back around towards him. Opening her hand, Ed eyes widened as he saw she was holding the tiny oil can that she had giving him. She bit her lower lip and kept her eyes off to the side. Her cheeks were slightly pink, probably looking the same as his by then.

"Here you go," she muttered. Letting Ed take the small item from her, she quickly turned and headed for the door. "I'll just…wait outside for you to get dressed." She stuttered on her words quickly left, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

It roughly took Ed about five minutes flat to get himself into much more suitable clothes than his bath towel. After yelling at Al while the younger brother could only laugh at the awkward situation, the door to their room finally opened again to let the embarrassed girl back into the room. 

Ed sat on the edge of his bed, putting his boots on slowly. He had thrown his hair back into a high ponytail, letting his hair fall over one of his shoulders. His face was still slightly red from before as he watched Winry come back into the room. "Sorry about that Winry. I didn't know that-"

"It was my fault Ed. I didn't know you were in the shower." She quickly cut him off, moving to see in his desk chair. As she sat, she looked at the two brothers as her smile came back, "Do you guys wanna go shopping? We have a whole day to kill before the ball tomorrow. Why not do something fun?" she said, trying to leave the moment behind and move on.

Al nodded in agreement, "That sounds great Winry. I think it would be fun." He said happily. Looking towards his brother, Al leaned forward a bit, "Right brother?"

Sitting up straight, Ed let his hair fall onto his back. "Just as long as you promise me not to pull me into every automail shop in creation." He said with a hint of a joking tone.

Winry pouted slightly. She looked like a small puppy who had its favorite toy taken away. Placing her hands together, she smiled, "Please Ed? Just one automail shop? I promise I'll be good!" Pausing, the smile turned to an evil grin, "Maybe I'll find some new limbs for you to make you taller."

Ed jumped to his feet, anger in his eyes, "What are you sayin'! That I'm as small as a grain of sand!"

Laughing, Winry got to her feet as well, "No. More like a bean."

"A BEAN!" Ed roared, leaning into the girl more.

Patting him on top of the head slightly, Winry continued with her evil grin, "Yes. A bean."

Al laughed at the two slightly, glad to see the embarrassment from before had left their systems. It was always amusing to watch his brother and Winry argue back and forth about stupid things. Their terms for each other, like 'machine junkie' and 'alchemy freak', were almost like strange terms of endearment to each other. Despite how much they may fight and argue, there was always something there that Al and just about everyone else who knew the two could see. But they never admitted it.

Clearing his throat loudly, causing the two older teens to halt their actions, Al started towards the door, "Let's get going. Before you two decide to kill each other." He said as he moved to leave the room.

"I'll meet you in the lobby Al," Ed told as he sat back down on the edge of his bed. Pulling his hair out of the ponytail, he shook out his head slightly. He placed the small red hair tie between his teeth as he began to separate his hair for his usual braid. "Just gotta do this first."

Rolling her eyes, Winry pulled the desk chair over into the center of the room. Grabbing hold of Ed's arm, she managed to get him to his feet and then back into the chair. "Oh just let me do it." She told as she took hold of his hair. "You never make it tight enough."

"I'll meet you both in the lobby then," Al told, a small chuckle in his voice as he moved from the doorframe and out of sight.

Ed sat quietly in the chair for a moment, removing the hair tie from his mouth and unsure of what to say or do. This was the first time in years that she said she would do his hair for him. He remembered back to after his first automail operation when she had offered it to him. He was going out to train with Al down by the lake near the shop, but Winry insisted that his he pull his hair back. She told him to sit and she would do it for him. And, despite telling her that a braid would make him look like a girl, it actually worked to keep his hair neat and out of his way.

Relaxing his muscles at the memory, he let Winry run his comb through his hair, making sure it was not tangled in any before it was pulled back. He couldn't help but smile as he let the girl run her hands through his hair, crossing it into his familiar braid style. She always could do it better than him, even after all these years of having to do it himself every morning.

"Ya know," she began, causing his thoughts to break, "You're hair looks really nice in the braid."

Smiling a bit more, Ed nodded a little bit, "Yeah. You're the one who showed me how to do it, remember?"

Hearing her laugh a bit, she tapped him on the shoulder of the hair tie. Holding it up, Winry snatched it from his hand and proceeded secure the braid. Within a mere matter of seconds, she placed her hands onto his shoulders, "There we go. All done."

"Thanks Winry," Ed said, about to rise from his seat. But before the blond could move to stand, he suddenly felt Winry's arms come around his chest in a tight hug. He felt his face grow warm as the girl clung to him, unsure of why of her sudden outburst.

He felt Winry's chin rest on his shoulder, leaning her head against the side of his slightly. "Ya know, I thought it looked fine with the ponytail. It makes you look a bit more mature. I liked it." She whispered quietly, making him blush more so than before.

Releasing him as quickly as she had grabbed him, Winry moved around the chair and towards the door. Looking back at him, she flashed a huge smile, "Come on! Al's waiting for us!"

Before Ed could say a single word, the girl had vanished from the doorway. He sat dumbstruck for a moment at her actions, unsure of how to read them. Just from placing a hand to his face, he could tell how much he must have blushing from her remarks. Shaking away the feeling, he quickly jumped to his feet, grabbed his coat and was out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

* * *

"This paperwork doesn't seem to want to stop," Colonel Mustang could only grumble as he placed his signature onto yet another other. For the whole afternoon, the young officer was confined to his office with the rest of his soldiers, filing and organizing papers; Most of which regarded the ball tomorrow evening. Everything was in the process being filed and tucked away into folders of some sort. Because all military offices would be closed tomorrow for the event, all of the rest of the work that might have been put off had to be done by five that afternoon. 

Hawkeye placed a small stack of papers onto Roy's desk, "This is the last of them sir." She told in her normal monotone voice.

Looking over the documents once, Roy sat back in his chair and let out a small sigh. The talk of the ball made him glad that he had gone to see his blond haired subordinate the night before to ask if she would attend with him. Granted, it would seem out of the blue for the others in the office. But to Roy, he always found Hawkeye to be somewhat of an attractive woman, when she didn't look like she was going to shoot off your head.

Glancing out the window, Roy looked down at the parade grounds. It was still snow covered, for the outside temperatures had not changed for the past week. The sky was a slate grey, as if threatening the city with even more snow showers. As he looked about, sometime that didn't belong amidst the snowy grounds caught his eye.

There in the middle of the parade grounds were Ed, Al, and Winry. Al was holding what looked like at least thirty large shopping bags. Winry lead the trio towards the dorm area, a huge smile on her face at a shopping day well done. He watched as Fullmetal grabbed a fist of snow in his hand the lightly tossed it at Winry, hitting her in the back of the head.

Roy rose from his chair and moved past the woman to the window to get a better look. He leaned against the wall slightly as he watched Winry retaliate against the attack. The two threw the snow back and forth at each other furiously, trying to get the other one covered in the white powder. He smiled as he watched Ed duck behind Al as cover while the younger of the two looked somewhat distressed trying to balance the bags on his being. Winry managed to get Ed in the head, causing him to chase after towards the dorms once again, with Al in close pursuit.

A soft chuckle escaped him as he watched the three vanished from sight. He shook his head slightly, letting his eyes avert to the sky, 'You still have a lot to learn Edward,' he thought.

"Sir?" Riza asked quietly, causing Roy to look back into the office. He stared at the woman for a moment, realizing that he must have appeared weird to the remaining people in the office. "Are you okay?" she continued on.

Looking back out the window, Roy watched as it slowly began to snow. The small white flakes descended to the ground at a slow and steady pace. It was almost as if it were like a painting that someone was slowly being to cover in white. The sight made him smile once again.

"Yeah. I'm fine Hawkeye." He moved back to his seat and picked up his pen. Without another word, he began to sign the papers once again. But this time, he kept a content smile upon his face, knowing that tomorrow evening was shaping up to be a bit more interesting than he thought it would be.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Just thought it would be nice to have a little fluff chapter before the ball. Alright everyone! I hope you enjoyed it and remember: Please Read and Review. 


	5. Changes

**Author's Note**: First off, I am really sorry this took forever and a day to get out to you guys. I got side-tracked with finals, KH2, and AnimeNEXT sewing. BUT, now that it's all out of the way, I will try to update more frequently.

_**Winter Night Dance**_

**Chapter Five**  
Changes

Central's military base had become a complete state of chaos within a mere few hours. Thru the day, large trucks had come and gone through the gates of the large area, each carrying different things for the party that night. A decorating service had been put to work to transform not only the main ballroom, but the parade grounds as well. Large red carpets were placed on the outside of the area in which cars would pull up to let the guests out. Trays and heat pans filled with the buffet foods were being ushered in as people ran about franticly, giving orders or yelling at how there were things that did not belong.

* * *

As night began to settle upon the city, Al sat quietly in the room at the desk. He had agreed to watch Elisa for the night at the Hughes' so that she would have someone familiar to play with for the night. Because the younger brother did not want to attend the ball, he thought it would be a nice alternative for the evening while he let his brother do his duty as a state alchemist. 

Looking over at the bathroom door, the suit of armor couldn't help but let an echoed sigh escape him. His brother had laid out the coat on the bed along with the gloves folded neatly on the bed beside it. He had disappeared into the bathroom to change into his uniform for almost twenty minutes, making the armor start to worry. Ed had always told him how he would never be caught dead in one of those uniforms no matter what they would do. But was he really that embarrassed about it? Or was he just trying to get rid of the annoyed feeling that was probably running through him from his toes to the tips of his hair.

"Brother!" he finally called, pushing the chair back so as to let him stand. "Come on! You're going to be late meeting Winry!" While Al came to his feet, the soft click of the bathroom door was heard, causing him to avert his stare to the opening door. If the younger brother Elric were able to let his jaw drop, it would have been on the floor from shock.

Standing in the doorway was Ed, his face somewhat pink with either frustration or embarrassment. Al could not tell which. He wore a white button down dress shirt with silver cufflings. Around his waist was the military dress skirt and pants that they had always seen the Colonel and all the other soldiers wearing. He had the standard black boots on his feet which had a slight heel to them, making Ed just a little bit taller. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail that sat right in the middle of the back of his head.

Moving into the room, Ed placed his regular clothes onto the bed neatly; each item folded individually and put one thing on top of the other. He tried to not make eye contact with his younger sibling, fearing what his comments might be. Moving around the bed quickly, he picked up the jacket into his hands slowly. In that very moment, Ed couldn't help but let his golden eyes wander over all the bars over the chest pocket and the stars on the shoulders.

Al watched in silence as his brother paused with the jacket in his hands, as if staring down a tiger that was about to pounce. He quickly shook the stare away and turned to face the mirror. Placing the coat on slowly, Ed adjusted the weight slightly. He quickly snapped the front over and once again adjusted to the new clothing.

"Brother?" Al questioned quietly. "You okay?"

Not turning from the mirror, Ed sighed as he finished adjusting the coat to some sort of comfort level. "I feel like punching myself." He finally growled; a look of displeasure in his reflection.

Chuckling lightly, Al let go of the small about of tension that had built up. "You don't look that bad. The uniform is kinda-"

"I'm dressed like Mustang, Al!" Ed shouted in frustration, spinning on his heels. Facing his brother, Ed threw his arms out, trying to prove his point. "All I need is a pompous attitude and some stupid spark gloves!" Letting his arms drop to his sides, the young alchemist hung his head, "Just watch. Mustang is probably the one who made that stupid 'All alchemists must attend' rule. It's all part of his plot to completely ruin me."

Letting a nervous laugh escape him, Al just waved away the comment, "You're overacting brother. Mustang wouldn't do that to you." He explained, trying to lighten the mood.

Raising his head up, Ed moved over towards the bed once more, "Yeah right Al. He probably told me to wear this because he wanted to see me look like a moron in front of Winry." He told as grabbed the gloves off the bed.

"Uh," Al paused, watching his brother put his gloves on slowly, adjusting to the new feel of them. He knew it was time to change the subject off of Mustang before his brother decided to kill the man at the door for this 'embarrassment'. "We…we better head out. Winry should be waiting in the lobby for you. And my ride should be here soon too." He told, moving towards the door.

Pulling the second white glove on, Ed gave a small nod. "Yeah. Let's go." As he moved to the door, Ed took one more look in the mirror at himself. Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly. While he was overreacting over looking like his least favorite person in the world, deep down it was all nerves. Not about having his fellow military comrades seeing him like this, but it was of a certain girl that would be waiting for him in the lobby. He adjusted his collar slightly and ran his hands over his hair slightly, making sure it was all nice and neat. Smiling slightly, he took in one more deep breath. 'Alright. This is it.' And with that, he moved to pick up a black coat and the hat for the complete uniform look. Then, he shut the door quietly as he followed his brother down to the lobby.

* * *

The elevator ride to the base floor was silent between the two. Ed placed the long black winter coat over his uniform. Then, he put the military hat upon his head. The hat stopped right above his ponytail, making it a perfect fit. He looked into Al's armor briefly, making sure that he looked alright. For the first time in his entire military career, he looked like what he hated: a soldier.

* * *

Once the doors opened, Al stepped out first, with Ed lagging somewhat behind. As they headed towards the center dome area of the lobby, loud chatter could be heard echoing throughout. Walking up next to Al's side, Ed caught sight of the scene. The area was filled every soldier and alchemist in the dorms. All the men were in uniform, all with their hats either on their heads on tucked under their arms. The women were in elegant evenings gowns of every style and make. Some were covered in sparkles, while some were trimmed in different jewels of all shapes. They stood laughing and smiling, talking excitedly as they waited for their dates to arrive. 

Looking about slightly, Ed saw no sight of the young mechanic girl he was waiting to meet up with. He noticed Al was looking as well, almost as if excited by the scene.

"Brother, I don't see Winry anywhere." Al said, looking above the crowds.

Before Ed could answer him, a loud familiar voice called over the people, "Edward! Al!" Looking over from the source of the voice, the two brothers smiled as they watched Hughes and his wife start over towards them, waving happily. Hughes was dressed in his uniform as always while Gracia was in a lovely deep blue dress that trailed down to the floor. And in one arm, she held Elisa, who looked half asleep resting on her mother's shoulder.

Stopping in front of the brothers, Hughes gave Ed a look over with a small look of shock and surprise, "Well Ed. I never thought I would see the day," he began, brushing the boy's shoulder slightly, "I have to admit it. That looks pretty good on you."

Smirking slightly, Ed removed his hat from his head and tucked it under his arm. "I don't see how you wear these things all the time. The collar is kinda annoying." He admitted, tugging at it slightly.

"You get used to it," Hughes laughed, patting the boy on the back. Looking past the Elrics, Hughes let his smile grow even more. Straightening up, Hughes took up his wife's arm and looked Ed in the eyes. "Might I suggest you turn around? You might miss something pretty amazing." He winked slightly and looked back over Ed's shoulder.

Ed gave Hughes a look of utter confusion. He didn't understand what exactly he was trying to say. 'Why?' he thought, 'Everyone is in front of me. What's interesting about an empty---'

"Hi Ed." A voice spoke quietly, breaking his thoughts suddenly. Slowly, Ed found himself turning on his heels, trying to keep himself from blushing again. As he faced behind him, he felt his heart go into throat and his eyes widen slightly.

She didn't look like the girl he remembered seeing the day before or ever for that matter. There was no light purple jumpsuit with the messy hair under that red bandanna and no large work gloves or grease on her face. This was a girl that Ed had never seen before. Her dress was a long red gown that fell to just above the floor. Thin straps ran over her shoulders as long red gloves covered her arms. Her blond hair was up in an assortment of curls, two of which framed her face, with what looked like small roses mixed into the style. Fine hints of light red eye shadow and lipstick could be seen against her pale skin. She held in her hands a small fur shawl and a small silver purse as she looked at Ed with a small smile.

"Wow Winry!" Al exclaimed happily, "You look-"

"Beautiful," Ed muttered quietly, cutting him off. Taking a step towards her, Ed remembered back to what Hughes had taught him. He bowed slightly to her, making Winry giggle while her face grew a tad more pinkish than before, and he held out his arm to her.

Taking his arm, Winry moved up to Ed's side. Her face was slightly flustered from the sudden act of gentlemen-like actions from the guy who was throwing snowballs at the back of her head yesterday. And now, there he was beside her. He looked so mature with the uniform on. The two could only stare at each other for a moment, taking in how much they had changed over just a mere few hours.

Lost in their moment, they didn't notice that Al had left with the Hughes' little girl. It took a tap onto Ed's shoulder by Maes to break his stare with the girl. Looking up at the man, Ed tried to keep himself composed and not show a sign of his nervousness to the whole situation he had placed himself into. There he was, dressed in a military uniform, going to a ball with his childhood friend that he was still in shock over how she looked. How could he not be nervous?

"You two ready to go?" Hughes asked, taking his wife's arm in his own.

Winry clung to Ed's arm a bit tighter, smiling widely as she leaned forward slightly to look at the man. "This is going to be so much fun!" she exclaimed happily, causing Ed and the couple to chuckle slightly.

Looking over at Winry once more, Ed kept the smile on his face. Removing his hat from under his arm, he placed back upon his head. "Then let's get going." He said, feeling his stomach starting to do flips at his own words.

Removing his arm from Winry's, the young man took the shawl from girl and placed it about her shoulders. She blushed slightly as Ed asked if she was going to be warm enough in that. Her only response she could get out was a small nod as he took up her arm once more.

* * *

Hughes and Gracia led the way towards the doors to the parade ground. Stepping outside, both Ed and Winry let their eyes widen at the sight. The once bare parade grounds had become nothing short of a beautiful winter wonderland. Strings of what must have been thousands of soft glowing white lights hung from the buildings and had been draped across to large poles. They encased the newly placed poles throughout the ground, giving the whole area a calming and beautiful look to it. Garland with what looked like small silver decorations decorated the poles as well. It too spread out to the buildings, making the area look like it was ready for Christmas. 

The four walked along a long red carpet that had been laid out onto the ground to make the walk across the grounds a bit more elegant. While every other couple around them were chit-chatting amongst themselves, Ed and Winry stayed silent. Both were too busy looking around at the parade grounds to try and start up a conversation. It was as if the two were unsure of what to say to one another. Ed continued to look at the lights along the buildings as an attempt to keep his composer. He watched as his breath continued to pant out as he walked, showing that he was walking a little fast for the occasion.

As they approached the building where the ballroom was located, Ed felt a small tug on his arm. Looking over, his eyes locked with Winry's soft and sweet gaze. She gave me a small pat on the arm, "You look so nervous Ed." She said softly, coming in a little closer to him.

The feeling of his heart in his throat felt like it was about to grace him once more. He did not know what to tell her as they came closer and closer to their point of destination. Looking up, Ed bit his lip slightly. "I'm…I'm not looking forward to hearing Mustang's taunts about the uniform. He's probably been looking forward to this humiliating experience for me all week." He groaned a bit, hanging his head in shame.

And yet, he felt the hand pat his arm once again. "Why do you care what the Colonel thinks?" she asked, but received no answer from the alchemist. Sighing slightly, she clung to his arm a bit tighter. "I think you look handsome." She muttered, causing Ed to look over at her with surprise.

"And," she continued not letting him say anything, "I'm glad you kept the ponytail."

Ed couldn't help but smile. He had spent a good twenty minutes after he was in the uniform debating whether or not to keep the braid or do the ponytail. After remembering Winry's comment about his hair the day before, the choice was quickly settled. But, Ed would never admit that to the girl. He may have liked her, but he didn't want to raise her ego anymore than it was already inflated at times.

* * *

The center building where the ball was being held was aglow with bright lights and the sounds of conversation. While the alchemists and soldiers who lived on the base walked across the beautiful parade grounds, the higher ups were pulling up in large lavish cars with drivers and doormen to assist them. People of high power and social class were all there, looking dressed to the nines in beautiful designer dresses and custom-made tuxedos. It was like a fairy tale come to life. 

Ed and Winry followed the rest of the guests up the red carpeted steps into a large lobby that looked like the one back in the dorms. The room was buzzing with friends meeting friends and whatnot as coats were taken. Echoing through the room were the faint sounds of an orchestra playing as people were being announced and descended down a set of stairs at the far end of the room. A young man took the coats of the guests as they entered, making the crowd move somewhat faster.

Once the coats had been taken, Hughes turned to the two with Gracia, the same happy grins on their faces as before. They waited as they watched Ed and Winry gave their coats to the young man with a small 'thank you' being muttered between them. Winry brushed off Ed's sleeve slightly, as if trying to make him look more presentable than before. Ed managed to do the same to the other arm, looking as if he was in the most uncomfortable thing he had ever worn.

"You look fine," Winry muttered with one more brush of his sleeve.

But Ed scrunched his nose in disapproval, "I hate these uniforms. The whole thing is annoying." He growled, continuing to adjust the cuffs on the coat as if they had moved from their secured spot.

Winry raised an eyebrow, "It's just for tonight Ed. Then you can turn it into a lampshade or something after." She grinned.

Ed chuckled at the thought of transmuting his uniform into a lampshade then sending it to Mustang as a thank you for the god awful outfit. Glancing over at Winry, he took up her arm once again, "Thanks for the idea. I might just have to write that one down." He laughed, holding onto her arm tightly.

Raising an eyebrow to the awkward conversation, Hughes cleared his throat slightly, gaining the attention of the two. "Come on. We need to head inside." He explained, casting his eyes over to the staircase.

As the moved towards the small line awaiting to be announced, the young man quickly took hold of Hughes' arm tightly. "Wait, do I have to do that too?" he questioned, giving Hughes a look of utter fright and slight embarrassment.

"Of course," the man smiled happily. "All state alchemists and higher officials are announced formally as a sign of repeat. It's an old tradition, dating back to when the military was first established." Grinning at his wife, Hughes started away from Edward and his date, "We'll see you inside Ed!" And with that, the Hughes' disappeared into the crowd, leaving Edward with a hand stretched out and looking very confused.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm gonna try to get the next one up ASAP. And don't' forget to read and review. 


	6. Dance By Shattered Moonlight

**Author's Notes:** pokes head out from under a rock Hey there everyone. I am so sorry it took so long to update. My muse finally struck me for this story again. Huzzah! So, here is the next installment.

**Chapter Six**  
Dance By Shattered Moonlight

Taking a long sip of his wine, Roy Mustang looked about the ballroom with a raised eyebrow. The large dorm-ceiling room was decorated with beautiful Christmas lights which almost looked like stars against the glass roof. There was a large circle marble floor in the middle of the room, which met the base of the large stairs. Off to the side of the large dance floor, there was a small quartet playing simple yet elegant string pieces as couples waltzed around the floor. Everywhere, high government officials and patrons mingled and networked. Almost every person was talking business. In the background of the music, the names of the state alchemists and their escorts were being announced, letting the room who of the best were there.

To the Colonel, it was just like last year, right down to the style of wine he had found himself drinking. He couldn't help but think back to his statement he had made earlier in the week after he had received in invitation: 'It's always the same: Every. Single. Year.' He thought taking yet another long sip of the wine.

"Must you drink so much wine sir?" Hawkeye's voice finally broke his thoughts, causing him to look to his side at his subordinate. Instead of her uniform, the woman was dressed in a strapless long blue gown. Her hair was down and hanging beautifully around her shoulders as she held a wine glass of her own in hand.

Smiling at the comment, Roy turned to place the glass down upon a small table behind them, "I thought I asked you not to call me 'sir' this evening. Its just Roy tonight." He said, giving her one of his trademark dashing grins.

Shoving the glass she held into his hands, Riza kept her normal stern face, "Yes sir."

"Roy! Riza!" a familiar voice called, causing Roy to look up from his alcohol. Walking through the crowd, the familiar smiles of the Hughes' made him contemplate putting the wine down, or asking Hawkeye for another glass. Opting for the first option, he placed the glass down next to his empty one and brought a smile upon his face. As his friend came into an arms length, they exchanged a quick handshake and then a kiss on the cheek for Gracia.

"Not even two hours in and you've already gone for the wine," Maes chuckled, taking note of glasses behind his friend, "That boring, huh?"

Shrugging at the comment, Roy smirked slightly, "Like I said before. It's always the same every year. Same faces and same pointless banter."

But before the playful banter of the two best friends could continue, the name of a certain young alchemist made their conversation be silenced. 'Mr. Edward Elric and Ms. Winry Rockbell' made the Hughes' and the two military individuals turn on their heels and let their eyes lock upon a sight that Roy could only smirk at. There at the top of the large staircase, stood the rather embarrassed Edward, his face slightly red as he heard his name announced. Winry gave a soft smile as he picked up her dress a bit to avoid tripping. They started down the stairs slowly, taking in each step at a time.

Riza felt her eyes widen in surprise at the young couple. Coming up to Roy's side, she crossed her arms across her chest. She couldn't help but smile a bit as her eyes focused the on the reddening face of the young alchemist. "I think Edward is blushing," she muttered, keeping her voice low enough so it would stay between them.

Chuckling a bit, Roy nodded in agreement. Not taking his gaze off the young couple either, all he could do was place his hand into his pocket with a sigh. "He's nervous as all hell." He remarked, averting his gaze a bit.

"Do you blame him?" she questioned back, turning to look at him.

Shaking his hair out of his eyes a bit, Roy could only find a smile, "Not in the least bit."

* * *

The walk down the stairs seemed like an eternity to Edward as he looked out across the elaborately decorated room. There were hundreds of faces within the crowd and only a handful of them were familiar to him. He found himself biting at his lip a bit, trying to calm the racing of his beating heart. With how much it echoed in his ears, Ed could have sworn that the entire room heard his pulse.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, the young man could see the girl on his arm. Winry held her head high as she gracefully moved down the stairs. There was not a single flatter in her steps as she held her dress up in her other hand. Her hair was still perfect as she wore a small smile on her lips. Even with what felt like every eye on them, she still held her cool. It was nothing short of what he thought she would do. That was just how Winry was.

Relaxing a bit at the sight, Ed straightened up his posture and continued to move down the stairs with ease. 'Just keep your eyes forward and it will be okay,' he kept thinking to himself. Upon reaching the base floor, the young couple vanished from the eyes of the others and blended in to their surroundings. Ed couldn't help but let a small sigh escape him as his shoulders slumped and his body relaxed a bit more than before.

"Thank god that's over," he muttered under his breath as in the hopes Winry didn't hear him.

Stealing a glance to the blond, she raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" Winry spoke back quietly, causing the young man to blush a bit.

As they moved through the crowded room, Ed did not bother to answer her. He kept his arm linked in her own, letting himself lead the young woman. On occasion, there were be a slight nod of the head as he passed higher ranked alchemists who knew him. It a way, it made him bit more important. And yet at the same time, slightly embarrassed since Winry was seeing every single motion, gesture, and smile he was receiving.

"Edward! Winry!" A familiar voice called over the chatting, grabbing the attention of the two.

Sure enough, as they moved around another group of higher-ups talking, Ed and Winry saw familiar faces waving them over. The Hughes' smiled broadly as they stood beside the one person Ed was hoping to avoid for the evening; Roy Mustang. As they moved closer, the alchemist was surprised to find that the woman on the Colonel's arm was none other than the gun-wielding, stone faced Lieutenant Hawkeye.

Winry tugged on his arm slightly, causing Ed to glance back. "Isn't that?"

"Yeah. It is."

"Why is she with?"

"He was probably desperate and she felt sorry for him." He muttered quietly to the girl, hearing her sweet voice giggle back a bit. They approached the group, trying to keep straight faces as they came up to them. Smiling at each other, they stopped in their place.

Hughes patted Ed the back slightly, "See? Now was it that bad?" he asked with his same old familiar smile on his face.

"As long as I don't have to do it again, I'll say it was the best damn time of my life," the blond muttered, forcing out a smile.

Roy was the first to strike up a new conversation, "I hope you find your new uniform to your liking, Edward." He started, gaining a stare from the rest of the group. Raising his glass of wine up by its stem, he twirled it about slowing, focusing his attention to it, "It was so difficult to find a uniform that was small enough to fit you. Had to have it custom made just for you."

Ed's calm expression turned within a blink of an eye. Steam almost seemed to be pouring out of his ears at the words as he gritted his teeth together in rage. "Ya know what Colonel,"

But before he could finish his sentence, Winry placed her gloved hand to his shoulder, catching him off-guard. Looking to his side, she let a smile cross her face. "Say what you want Colonel Mustang," she started, letting all eyes fall on her, "but I think Ed looks perfect in his uniform."

"Winry…" Ed whispered under his breath as his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink at her words.

Letting a small curtsey escape her, she took hold of the young man's hand, "Come on Ed. Let's dance." Before a rebuttal of any sort could be spoken, the young mechanic started off towards the marble floor, Ed in tow. Her straight forwardness seemed to catch him off guard as he staggered a bit in his steps.

Moving onto the dance floor, Winry lead the way to a small empty spot. There were multiple couples dancing to a beautiful and cheerful waltz. Elegant ballroom gowns flared out as they were spun about by their partners. It was almost like a well turned music box clicking away with how they moved. All of them were in time as the orchestra filled the night air.

Stopping in a small empty place on the floor, Winry released Ed's hand. The young man looked about his surroundings carefully. He watched the other couples smiling and laughing as they danced the night away. There were was almost a sense of light-heartedness in the air as he spotted a few familiar faces. Havoc spun a beautiful young woman into his arms as she giggled happily. On the other side of the room, Lt. Armstrong was dancing with a young lady that looked remarkably like him. From what Ed could make of it, it was probably the sister he had heard so much about.

Looking back at Winry, the girl had a look of question on her face. "Are we gonna dance?" she asked, sounding slightly confused.

All the young man could do was nod a bit. He couldn't think of the words to say to her at that very moment. Sure, there were a million and one things he wanted to tell her at that very moment. How that she looked so incredible standing there, almost like a dream. But he knew that there would never be enough nerve to tell her that. Stepping back a bit, Ed remembered back to Hughes' lesson. He gave a deep bow to her. Placing his hand out to her, he let his gold eyes meet her blue orbs. "Shall we?"

Letting a soft grin come to her face, Winry curtsied in reply to his bow. "Of course." Reaching out to place her hand into his own, everything seemed to fall into place. Taking hold of Winry's waist, Ed pulled her close to him. He held up her hand in his other hand and straightened up his posture. Letting his eyes lock with the girl's, he breathed deep and let the dance begin.

To the surprise of the older friends of the teens, both the alchemist and mechanic moved in perfect time to the music. The two almost seemed to flow across the dance floor as if they had been doing this for years. There were mutters from a few of the backers of the military at how professional they were upholding themselves to the crowd.

Roy held his glass in his hand with a look of surprise on his face, "Since when did he learn to dance like that?" he muttered quietly.

But all Maes could do was chuckle at his best friend's look of disbelief upon his face. "I guess you're not the only one who can teach him something new, eh Roy?" he joked, nudging him in the ribs a bit.

As he watched his friend and wife join in on the waltz, Roy looked slightly flustered at the comment. Glancing to his side at his date, then back to the floor, the flame alchemist threw back the remainder of his wine in one massive gulp. Taking hold of Hawkeye's hand in his own, he moved to the dance floor. Although he expected a voice of interjection from his second-in-command, there was nothing from her. As he pulled her into his grasp, she let a small smile escape her.

"Yes Colonel. I would love to dance." She spoke sarcastically, causing Roy turn fade a deep crimson.

* * *

The lively music seemed to carry through the ballroom in what seemed like an eternity. Edward and Winry laughed and danced, stopping only for a few moments for a breather and a drink. Then, it was back onto the floor as they continued into the night. It almost seemed like a dream that they could not break free from, though they weren't trying too hard to do so.

Time had been forgotten as the music slowed down to a much gentle pace. A young woman had stepped up to the orchestra, giving the piece they played a light vocal. A soft piano echoed through the large room as the people on the floor slowed down their pace of the dance. A few grew closer than before, taking in the moment with each other. Most of the people had moved to relax from the faster pace songs and mingle with a few of the other higher ups.

And yet, among the few couples remaining on the floor, were Ed and Winry. The young woman had placed her arms about his neck, giving her head a place to rest upon his shoulder. The young man had slid his arms about her tiny waste, holding her close to him. Her perfume lingered in the air as he rested his head next to hers. In all the scenarios he could have come up with about this evening, he didn't think it would be like this. To hold her close, letting her cling to him tightly; it was like a dream.

A small sigh escaped Winry, causing Ed to raise an eyebrow to her. "What is it?" he asked quietly, pulling back a bit.

Lifting her head up from his shoulder, the young woman's blue eyes met his gold ones. She wore a smile upon her face as she almost seemed to glowing in the lowlight of the ballroom. "Edo, I have a confession to make to you," she muttered quietly, gaining a raised eyebrow from him. "When I was on the train coming here, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't think that tonight would be this amazing. Everything is just perfect. The music, the place," she paused, letting her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink, "…you."

"…Me?" Ed replied as he got the feeling of being slightly overheated himself.

Moving back a bit from him, Winry continued to grin, "I've never seen this side of you before Ed. I always thought that it was all work with you. Like it was the only thing you would ever care about."

Hearing her words, Ed became taken aback. Although she continued to smile and compliment him on the evening, he couldn't focus on her words. The only thing that could come to mind was something that he hadn't thought about in years. A feeling that not even Al knew about. It was that one lingering moment within his memory that made what was a beautiful evening shatter right before his eyes.

"Ed?" Winry asked finally, causing him to shake his head a bit. They had stopped dancing and were now standing in the middle of the floor while the others continued to move around them. Looking at the girl straight on, he was met with a look of concern that wasn't there a moment before. "Are you okay?"

Taking a small step away from her, Ed released Winry from his hold. His arms fell to his sides loosely as he continued to look at her with question upon his face. What were once soft eyes that looked at her with a great comfort were now filled with a distant cold. They narrowed a bit as his eyes cast to the side from her.

"Was it something I said?" she asked him, trying to keep this from becoming a scene.

Looking back at her, Ed shook his a bit. He was confused. There was something there that was coving up the feeling of happiness that he had felt. A fear that he had kept to himself for so long, he thought it wasn't even real anymore. He had been using it as an excuse to keep himself and his feelings from everyone else for so long, it seemed too natural.

"I…"he began, backing away slowly from the girl. "I'm sorry Winry."

"Ed?" she questioned him, taking a small step towards him, outstretching her hand.

Turning on his heels, Ed turned his back to her, "I…can't do this right now."

Before any other words could be exchanged or a scene could be started to call attention to them, the young blond alchemist took off at a quickened pace for the stairs to the lobby. He kept his head down as he moved through the crowd, hoping to go unnoticed. Moving up towards the exit quickly, he didn't want to look back. He couldn't bring himself to see her standing there alone, being very confused as to what had just happened. As much as his heart told him to turn around and go back to her, his head told him that this was the right choice.

'No one get hurt this way,' he thought as he moved to leave. 'That's all that matters now.'

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**Author's Notes:** Huzzah! Its almost finished. Don't forget to Read and Review!


	7. Hidden Truths

** Author's Notes:** Next chapter nice and quick. Its so nice to be out of my slump. I guess putting off studying for my final is really helping. Besides, its kinda a nice winter story for all the awesome EdxWinry fans. Enjoy everyone!

**Chapter Seven**  
Hidden Truths

The large lobby of the dorms that was filled to the brim with people not even a few hours ago was nothing than a large cold room now. What was once a room bustling with noise of excitement and enjoyment now seemed almost vacuumed sealed from letting joyous sounds enter within its walls. The simple sounds of boots upon the marble floors echoed loudly throughout the dome as Edward Elric entered the building at a quickened pace.

Moving into the room, the young man made a direct line for the elevators. As he hurried along, he began to remove his coat and hat. He was in such a rush to get out of there; he didn't even bother to check to make sure the items belonged to him. They seemed like the right size, so that's all that mattered. One thought kept running through his head that seemed to stab him in the gut multiple times and then twist itself deeper.

Pressing the button for the elevator doors, Ed couldn't help but let his eyes close as a small sigh of air leave him. 'She must hate me,' was the first thought to his mind. 'I left her standing there and I couldn't even explain myself to her. But,' he let his back slump a bit, his ponytail falling about his shoulders, 'she wouldn't understand, I guess.'

A light ding cut the alchemist's thoughts off-guard as he jumped a bit at the sound. Raising his head up to look at the doors, the sight he was met with was not one he was proud of. Ed looked as if he had just run a mile and he was still recovering from it. His hair was messed a bit around his face and shoulders as his eyes were a bit heavier than usual.

As the doors to the shaft slid opened, the sounds of entrance to the dorms opening caught the tips of his ears. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Edward felt his blood turn cold. Two people that he did not expect to be seeing in this building stood in the doorway, looking about franticly.

"Edward!" Hughes' voice called, looking left to right.

Roy glanced around as well, his eyes narrowed in a fashion whenever Ed came back from a mission with the damage reports. "Full Metal?! Where are you?" he shouted, anger in his voice.

In an attempt not to be seen, Ed quickly slid into the elevator and hit the button to his floor. He heard the sounds of boots moving about, growing louder with each passing step. Reaching over to the panel of numbers, the young man slammed his finger to the 'door close' button and held it down tightly. Standing against the wall while keeping his finger upon the key, he found himself biting down on his lower lip. Within the ten seconds of footsteps coming closer, Edward nearly forgot to breathe. The steps came closer and closer to the slowly closing elevator door, letting Ed's breath silence completely. He pressed the door shut button in a quiet rapid fashion, trying to avoid contact with the military men.

Once he felt the floor moving beneath him, the blond released the button from his finger and let a breath escape him. Throwing his head back against the wall, he let his eyes close. The evening that had started off as something wonderful had just shattered into a million jagged pieces of glass. That beautiful smile that made him go weak in the knees seemed to fade from his mind. The happiness he felt dancing with her, listening to her laugh from joy and fun seemed distant and cold now.

'It's better this way,' he thought to himself. The words made his heart almost ache as the elevator came to a halt. '….at least I hope it is.'

Stepping out into the hallway, Ed walked slowly towards his room. He dragged his feet a bit on the wooden floors, letting his steps be the only type of noise. Moving closer to his door, he began to undo his collar to his coat and unsnapped the front of it, revealing his white dress shirt beneath. His long hair fell over his shoulder as he withdrew his key from his pocket.

Placing his hand upon the brass knob, Edward was about to place the key into the lock. But before he could do so, the door creaked opened slightly. He raised an eyebrow in question. Was Al back from babysitting? That was impossible. The Hughes' were still at the ball. Maybe he forgot to lock the door before he left, but that didn't make any sense either. He remembered almost missing the elevator because he had to lock the door. Letting his eyes narrow, Ed pushed the door opened without hesitation.

The room was almost as he left it. His normal clothes were still folded up on his bed while the rest of his room was clean and organized. The only things that were most definitely out of place were the two men leaning against his desk and bed, both having their arms crossed as they watched him come through the door. Hughes and Roy both wore looks of disapproval upon their features, looking as if they were his disapproving fathers.

Looking at the two military men, he placed his coat and hat onto a chair next to the door. Ed took hold of the knob, lingering in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing in my room?" he muttered quietly.

"Haven't you learned the stairs are faster then those old elevators?" Hughes remarked, almost as if trying to lighten the tension. He didn't move from his spot, just let his arms uncross and fall to his sides. "But I could seriously ask you the same question Edward." He began. As he straightened up, the man adjusted his glasses a bit on his nose, the young man cast his eyes away from him. "Considering you caused a small scene at the ball, I would like to ask you why exactly is my wife sitting back there comforting a very sad young woman who didn't deserve to be left in such a manner. Not to mention that not even two days ago you could not wait to see?"

Feeling his body stiffen at the man's words, Ed released the handle from his gasp. He had never been spoken to in such a manner by Hughes. Normally, there was a warm type of father figure in the man, willing to help him out in any way possible. Granted, he should have suspected that he would have had to deal with the angry father figure sooner or later. Keeping his eyes away from the sight of his higher ups, he walked into the room. The only thing he wanted to do was to forget all of this evening. Neither of them could understand the feeling or thoughts he had within him at that very moment.

"I don't think I will ever understand that thick headedness of yours Full Metal," Roy's voice piped in, causing the young man to halt in his steps. The raven haired man looked directly at him, his narrowed eyes piercing through him like knives through the young blond, making him shift uncomfortably. "If there is something in real life that you don't understand, you just run away. You don't look back and try to keep everything to yourself."

"Why do you care?" Ed growled slightly, unsure of what words to speak back to his commander. Looking at the older man, he returned the icy stare. "Why do you insist on trying to understand me and what I want?"

Pushing off the bed, Roy straightened himself up to give himself a look of intimidation. The words that had just been spoken from him almost seemed like a swift kick to the stomach. Granted, the man never wanted to consider the Elric brothers like his children. That was more of Hughes' department and he seemed to be doing a fine job of it. But he couldn't help but feel responsible for the actions they took in life. Perhaps over the years, it had just become second nature to try and help Ed, even in matters not alchemy related. The young man kept his eyes locked with his as he stood there, looking ready to fight him on his words.

"Life isn't all about work and alchemy Edward." Roy told him flatly, causing the golden eyes staring back to widen in shock.

"I thought you said you cared about her Ed." Hughes added in, his tone calmer than before.

Withdrawing slightly, Ed took a step back into the center of the room. 'I do. More than anything.' He thought to himself as he let his eyes fall to his boots as he continued to listen to the men speak.

"If you care about someone, you don't hurt them like you did tonight." Hughes concluded.

The young man closed his eyes at the words, "I'm keeping her from hurting even more later on down the road." He muttered quietly.

"That doesn't make any sense Ed," Hughes answered, moving towards the young man slowly. "Why are you doing this?"

But Roy shook his head in annoyance. Holding up his hand to keep his friend from taking another step forward, he moved in a bit closer to Ed. "It that you want? By making yourself more miserable than before?" He paused, waiting for some kind of rebuttal from the blond or some kind of reaction. Ed's face had become hidden from view, for his long bangs had covered his face from view. His hands had formed into tight fists that seemed to be shaking with rage at the words that were being spoken to him. Pulling back a bit, Roy sighed, "Honestly Edward, you are more of a child than I thought. Where is the logic in-"

"I don't want to be like my father!" The youth shouted in frustration, silence falling upon the room. "I refuse to be like that coward and leave without trying to contact his family! Never! No way in hell will I be like him!"

The two men stepped back from the youth as he panted from his scream. Shock and surprise fell upon their features as they watched Ed trembling with anger and frustration. They had never heard the teen speak about his father, knowing that he never exactly liked the man. No one ever questioned his hate for the man or ask why it was justified. They thought it better not to pry until he was ready to speak of it.

Hughes was the first to break the silence, "Edward?" he questioned softly, not wanting to anger the young alchemist more.

Turning away from the two, Ed moved away towards the window. The parade grounds were still lit up in their glory and beauty in the late hours. Frost had begun to form around the edges of the glass as he let his eyes wander a bit around at the sight of Central.

"You all remember my father as some brilliant alchemist," he began, placing his hand to the glass. It was cold even through his glove that he didn't bother to remove. "But I only remember the hurt in my mother's eyes every single day after he left. She died waiting for him to come back to her. And no matter how many times that we thought he would walk through that door, he never did. My father left the woman he loved and never came back. She only wanted to see him on her deathbed, and she couldn't even have that."lf more miserable than before? Honestly Edward, you are more of a child than I thought."eturned the stare. "ing

Roy glanced over to Hughes, who returned the stare as well. Both could not believe the words that were coming from this young man. Never, in all the years that they had known him, had they ever hear him speak with such truthfulness about his life before the military. It was almost as if the young kid that everyone picked on for being so short and hot headed had suddenly grown up right before their eyes. There was hurt and frustration in his reflection in the glass, something that he always tried to hide from his superiors. It showed weakness and it was something that he refused to have.

Turning around to face them, Ed looked the both of them square in the eye. "I don't want to make a promise to her I can't keep. I want to be able to say that I'll be home and then keep my word."

Smiling at the boy's statement, Hughes moved towards him. "Right there Edward," he began, placing a hand onto the teen's shoulder, "is where you are different from your father."

The teen furrowed his brow at the words, "What?" he questioned.

"What you said right then," the man told, smiling a bit at his words, "You are willing to try and make it work. No matter what. You don't want to hurt her like what your father did all those years ago."

"Yeah," Edward spoke quietly, understanding what the man was saying. "I don't want to leave her."

Chuckling a bit, Hughes released the boy's shoulder and adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Then tell her that yourself." Looking down at the young man, he couldn't help but let a smile escape him. Ed seemed deep in thought over the words he had been told. From the first day Hughes had met him on that train to Central, he knew that the teen was gonna be a handful. But, despite everything that had happened with missions and work, he still found time to help the two Elrics along their journey, whether it was military related, or just very good advice. "I think it's about time that you start thinking with your heart instead of your head. You'd be surprised what you can learn from it."

Ed shook his head a bit, "But I—"

"You love her, don't you?" Roy's voice chimed in, causing the two to face him. Roy stood near the doorway, his hand in his pocket. He gave his normal smug expression as strands of his hair fell into his face. Looking right at the young man, he let his smile grow a bit as he watched Ed ponder the words spoken. "Am I right Full Metal?" he asked again.

Shaking his head a bit, confusion came from the thought, "She is my best friend."

But the flame alchemist just continued to let his smile grow, "Any woman who is your best friend Ed, will be the one you will fall for in the end."

Straightening up a bit, Ed let the words hit him straight on. Everything was falling into place. The feeling he always got when she came close to him. How he would always find a reason to fight with her about anything, just to be able to get closer to her. Whenever she would come close to him, how his pulse would quicken and he had to try to act relaxed. Could all of that really have been what the man said?

Roy could see the light bulb go off within the young man's head, letting the smugness in his expression fade away a bit. Stepping to the side, he made a clear path to the door for him. "Go on Edward. There is a girl sitting alone at the ball who needs to hear all of this."

"But how do I apologize to her without getting a wrench to the head?" he questioned, stepping forward towards Roy, "I did just leave here without saying a word."

Removing his hand from his pocket, the Colonel pointed to the young man, "As your commanding officer, I order you to return to the ball and set things straight with Winry." He bellowed slightly, catching both Hughes and Ed off-guard.

A smirk crept slowly to Ed's lips as he watched the man withdraw his hand. Straightening up, he tossed his long blond hair over his shoulder. "This is one order I will listen to Colonel." He said, moving towards the door. Grabbing his coat and hat from the chair he had left them on, the young man let his smile turn to Roy, "For once."

Within a blink of an eye, Edward bolted from the room and hurried for the stairs of the building. As he ran, he pulled his coat onto his person and placed the hat back upon his head. There was determination in his strides as he made his way for the door and back to the ball. Stepping out into the hallway, the two men grinned a bit as the watched Ed disappear through the door for the stairs. The glanced at each other for a job well done. "We should head back," Roy spoke, letting the smile leave his persona.

As they started for the elevator, Hughes looked to his friend with a sly grin upon his face. "Ya know, you should really take your own advice Roy." He said, a slightly smugness in his tone.

"Huh?" Roy questioned, raising an eyebrow at the comment. "What do you mean?"

Pressing the button for the elevator, Maes focused his stare on the brass doors before them. "Oh nothing. Just thinking about a certain blond, gun-wielding lieutenant waiting for you outside the ball."

The flame alchemist suddenly grew crimson at the words. "What are you implying Maes?!"

As the doors opened, the man stepped into the elevator, blocking his friend's path into the small shaft. Smiling a bit at Roy's bright red face and wide-eyed expression, he reached over to the button. "I think you know what I mean." He smirked, letting the doors close on a very confused and embarrassed Colonel.

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**Author's Notes**: Hope you all are enjoying the story! Don't forget to read and review!


	8. In The Twilight

**Author's Notes: ** Okay everyone. The second to last chapter. I apologize in advance if my grammar and spelling are off. I have been going insane from finals. I know a few people out there are probably feeling my pain as well. For this particular section of the story, I would like to recommend a few songs that would go well with this. I always love to write to soundtracks, so if you have any of these songs on your computer, I suggest you give them a listen while or after you read: "Long Night" by the Corrs, "Prayer '94" by Bon Jovi, and "Listen To Your Heart" by D.H.T.

Enjoy everyone!

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**Chapter Eight**  
In The Twilight

The faint chiming of the clock tower striking two echoed outside of the ballroom of the military headquarters. All of the lights had begun to fade into a dim glow as the last guests began to file out of the large room. Music still played faintly in the background as a sweet farewell to the soldiers and aristocrats. A few of the younger women clung to the arms of their dates, letting their eyes become filled with stars. They sighed happily as they walked up the stairs, singing the praises of the night that seem like a fairytale.

And yet, to the young mechanic from Rizenpool, it was nothing but an evening of disappointment and heartbreak. After Ed had left her in the middle of the floor, she didn't know how to react. At first, she had remained frozen in her spot, keeping her hand out to him. It took a light touch from Gracia and Hughes to get her attention back to the room. They had taken her to the side, offering her comfort. While the Gracia had talked to her and gave her something to drink, Hughes and the Colonel had vanished from sight. She couldn't bring herself to cry or be angry. All she did was sit there, drinking the sparkling cider that was offered to her by Havoc.

As the guests began to leave, she told them that it was okay to go on ahead. All she really wanted to at that moment was to be alone. After all the hints and thoughts of the young man that had lived next door to her for so many years, the thought of maybe having him return her feelings just seemed as if it was never going to happen. She sat alone as the lights dimmed, feeling like a fool for even trying to make him think differently.

Winry let her gaze move to the large glass windows. The parade grounds were still alit with the stunning lights and beautiful decorations that gave this place a very magical feeling a few hours ago. And yet, with all the things that made it seem amazing, nothing seemed to matter. Resting her head upon her hand, she let her eyes wander about the ballroom.

A small sigh escaped her as she began to come to her feet. 'I guess I should just head back to the dorm,' she thought to herself, fixing her dress as she rose, turning to look towards the exit. 'Maybe I could find Ed when I get back and see what—'

Letting her eyes stop at the top of the stairs, Winry froze in her spot. There, stopped in his spot was the young man that had vanished from the room what seemed like forever ago. He looked about the room, noticing that she was looking up at him. No expression was upon his face as he started down to the floor, taking a somewhat slow pace walking down the steps.

Coming down to the floor level, the young woman could tell that his face was slightly flustered, almost as if he had just ran a sprint or had finished his normal workout routine. His long blond hair looked as perfect as always, as it remained in its ponytail. Gold eyes flashed a stare in her direction as he started to walk across the marble floor, followed by a small calming grin. As he past the orchestra, he muttered something to them, gaining a nod from the conductor.

"Ed?" She finally managed to muster out, watching as the young alchemist headed towards the windows off to the side. Seeing his smile, Winry felt that anger begin to rise up within her, almost as if she were craving a wrench in her hand to throw at him. "What the hell happened earlier? You ran off, leaving me all alone on the floor and I was completely embarrassed! How could you do that to me? I thought you cared!"

But the young man made no attempt to try and argue back with her. Moving over to the windows, he looked up at them carefully. In a way, it almost seemed as if he were ignoring her tries to fight with him, which only angered her even more. Biting her lip a bit, Winry could feel tears starting to form in her eyes in frustration.

"Fine! Ignore me! See if I ever do you any favors again!" she screamed at him. Holding up her skirt a bit, the young woman started onto the dance floor, making her way for the stairs at a quickened pace. "Why did I even bother with you…you alchemy freak?!" she screamed, turning to glare at him. Thin streams of tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to contain herself.

Turning on his heels, Ed let his smile soften more. "Because I can do this."

Moving his hands behind his back, the sound of him clapping echoed throughout the room, causing the girl to withdraw a bit. Placing his hands onto the glass, the light of an alchemy array illuminated the room. The light crawled up the glass windows around the entire room, up to the dome above the dance floor. As the girl watched carefully, her eyes widened in amazement as the glass and walls began to look as if they were frosting over with a thin layer of ice. Different patterns and designs started to appear, making the room look like something out of a dream. As she stood in the middle of the floor, a soft layer of snow begun to fall from the now opened dome above the floor. The shower of white slowly came down as Winry stared in awe at the sight. She held her hand out; catching a few of the flakes in her hands to make sure it was real.

All anger was lost to her as she looked around in amazement. She spun around, taking in the scene as the transmutation finished. "Oh my…" was all that she could muster out. Snow clung to her long hair as she spun about, letting a smile cross her lips. And yet, it was the sound of footsteps from the young alchemist that made her turn to face him straight on.

He moved slowly towards her, cautiously taking each step. As he came onto the dance floor, the snow clung to his hair and uniform slightly. Ed could feel his heart wanting to jump out of his chest with his nerves. A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach as he watched the girl turn to him, seeing the tail of tears rolling down her cheeks. There was something there that needed to come out and it had to be that time.

Smiling a bit while brushing some of the tears away, Winry let her hair fall over his shoulder, "This is…unbelievable."

"Winry," he began, causing the young woman to become quiet. Ed wore a stern expression upon his features, letting his shoulders tense. He looked down to the floor that slowly became covered with a light snow as they stood across from each other, silence hanging on the air. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

The mechanic was taken back at his words. She could see that there was guilt written upon his face. She had seen that look a few times before in the years she had known him. She tried to speak, but he continued on.

"Ever since my mom died, I could only think of how my father never came back to her. He was always be off and we would never hear from him. There was always so much pain in my mother's eyes when she would think about him." Looking up at her, Ed let a small smile come to his lips as his eyes soften. "I don't want to do that to you Winry."

"Ed," she breathed out, feeling her heart stop in her chest. She covered her gasp her hand as was surprised by this words.

Starting forwards where the girl stood, Ed let his eyes lock with hers. He kept his back straight, giving his strides to her almost a dignified look. Reaching out to her, Edward stood awaiting her hand. "I know you're angry with me. But please let me have one last dance with you."

Before she could even let her answer come to her lips, the sound of a soft piano playing grabbed her attention. Looking over to the band, they had begun to play a song similar to earlier that night. Surprise and confusion came to her as she looked back at the young man whose eyes were staring at her, awaiting her answer.

Wiping her eyes dry, she could only find a nod to give him a yes. Placing her hand into his, Winry let him take hold of her waist with his free hand. Ed slowly pulled her close, moving into the dance position. He held her hand in his own as they slowly began to dance to the beat of the song. They started around the floor in a waltz as the song played.

The light dusting of snow continued as the music continued to play. It landed upon the dancing couple as they moved across the floor. The train to Winry's dress kicked up a bit of the already fallen snow, causing the two to become surrounded by the powder. None of it mattered; all that was important was the two of them at that very moment.

Pulling back a bit from the young woman, Ed continued to hold her close to him. He looked into her blue eyes, which still had lingering tears in them. She looked at him with question upon her face, wondering why he looked at her in that way. "I never want to hurt someone I care about," he paused, letting a smile form to the corners of his lips once more. "Especially you Winry. I love you too much to let you be sad."

Her eyes widened at his words. "Edo, what did you just say?" she asked, letting her hold on him tighten slightly.

The dance began to slow to the point where they were barely moving. Winry watched as the young man's expression became stern. He took his hand from hers, placing it to her cheek. Letting his gloved fingers slowly grace her face, Ed brushed away the small traces of tears. He had never thought she would be that close to him without having a set of tools in hand. It was different than any moments there might have been in the past.

Winry felt her cheeks growing red at his touch, almost surprised at his actions. Placing her free hand onto his waist, she let herself be pulled in closer. All she could do was hold tightly to him. She looked into the familiar gold eyes that she knew so well as if they were a brand new sight to her. This was a side to him that she had never seen before or perhaps it was the real Ed finally coming out of hiding for so long.

"Ed, what…" she whispered, but was quickly silenced by a finger to her lips. Letting his hand slide to her cheek again, their eyes shut almost as a natural reaction.

Leaning in slowly, Edward let his lips lightly grace the ones of the girl. Pulling back slightly, he let his eyes open slightly to find that Winry had let hers do the same. Brushing a few stray bangs from her face, Ed smiled a bit at her. Before he could try and speak again, the girl leaned back into him, letting her lips meet with his once more. This time, it was deeper and longer as if something that seemed as if it was years waiting to come out.

They held each other close as the snow continued to fall about them. The girl moved his arms up about Ed's neck as they let their kiss continue. She let her fingers run through the long ponytail, some of the snow being brushed away. In the meanwhile, Ed had taken hold of her waist, letting his hand move up and down her back slowly.

Pulling apart, the two stayed close for a moment. They both smiled at each other, a small laugh exchanged. Ed nudged her nose with his own, making her smile even more. She returned the gesture, closing her eyes a bit. He kissed her cheek softly as she moved to rest her head to his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

Words just didn't seem needed as they separated. Taking up her waist and hand once more, Ed began to lead the girl about the dance floor once more. This time though, they both were smiling and laughing, taking in the moment as if it would never end. It didn't matter that the music had stopped playing and that there was nothing keeping them there. The only thing that mattered was that they were able to spend those moments together.

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**Author's Notes: **Once again, I will apologize if the spelling or grammar is off. I am in the tail end of my finals, so words are starting to blur together. Anyways, the conclusion is soon to come.


	9. Never Final Farewells

**Author's Notes**: Here we are. The final chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

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**Chapter Nine**  
Never Final Farewells

The shrill cry of the train whistle echoed throughout Central Station. People hurried about the station platform as they rushed for their trains tfor work or to take them out into the country. Squeaky wheeled luggage carts rolled across to the different trains by the railroad employees. They would unload the bags into either the baggage cars or into the passenger cabins, all depending on the tags upon the handles per the request of the person. It was always chaos in the station, no matter what time of the day.

Everyone had turned up to the station to see the young Rockbell off on her trip. They were all dressed in layers to help keep the cold of the platform from getting to them. The Hughes, the Colonel, Al and Edward all stood on the platform while the girl gave her things off to one of the luggage hands. She had a few extra bags from when Ed and Al had taken her shopping and a few more after Edward and her had gone out by themselves for the day. Turning to the group, she smiled brightly.

"Thank you everyone for making this week amazing," she said happily, holding a small bag in her hands. "I've never had such a nice trip to Central before."

Mrs. Hughes smiled as she held Elisa in his arms. "It was lovely to see you again Winry. Please come back to visit soon."

"Absolutely." Winry smiled, giving a small wave to Elisa, causing the little girl to giggle.

The large armor stood beside the family, letting out the sound of a sigh. "Don't forget to call us when you get back home. Just to let us know you got home safely." He told, the voice echoing though the empty casing.

Winry nodded at the boy's words, "I always do Al. Just promise that you'll keep your brother in line and make sure he doesn't break anything on his arm and leg." She joked, causing the small group to chuckle a bit.

Rolling his eyes, Ed walked up to the girl crossing his arms in annoyance. "Oh ha ha. I know you would just love for me to break something so I would have to come home." He growled slightly. He tossed his ponytail over his shoulder as he adjusted his red coat upon his persona. Ever since the ball had passed, the alchemist had made a habit of keeping his hair back in a high ponytail. It gave him a bit more of a mature look, not to mention a few other reasons he kept to himself.

"But you will come back to visit," she asked quickly, looking the alchemist in the eye slyly. "Right?"

Turning away from the girl, Ed could not help but glance back over his shoulder. The remainder of the group stood quietly, watching every single move as if it were the climax of a movie. There was not a single attempt to hide their curiosity of the two as he stood there. Ed did not even tell Al about what had happened at the ball. The only thing that was said the morning after was he was meeting Winry and that he would not be back until late. Unfortunately for the young man, that was just enough to let the younger Elric figure out everything.

Narrowing his eyes a bit at their audience, he cleared his throat. "Can you people give us just…five minutes please?" he almost demanded, causing them to turn to have a conversation amongst themselves.

Turning back to face the girl, he could see a bit of red tinted upon her cheeks at his actions. She let a small laugh escape her as she let Ed take hold of her hand, leading her away from the small group. As they walked along the station platform, the two let their fingers interlock with each other. They were silent for the first minute, almost as if unsure of what to say.

"The answer is yes, ya know," Ed said, glancing over to her as they walked.

"Hm?" She questioned, looking down.

Stopping in his tracks, the young man pulled slightly on his hold on Winry's hand. Letting her turn to face him, he let a small grin form on his lips. "I'll be back to visit. I promised you that."

Relaxing slightly at his words, Winry turned to face him completely. "I know you will." She told him with a grin, letting her hair fall over her shoulder.

Even though that both tried to be happy while the others watched, there was hurt within the words. Granted, the two of them knew that it would have to be like this. With Ed still searching for a way to bring back Al's body and being tied down to the military, he had to remain in Central. And Winry couldn't leave her grandmother alone to run the shop. Visits would be planned out and they would make it work. But the distance would be the hardest thing.

"As soon as you can visit," Winry began, casting her eyes to the ground. "You will. I know you will."

"Hey," the young man told, cutting her off. Placing his fingers to her chin, he lifted her head up to look him in the eye. There were slight hints of tears in her in blue eyes, trying to be held back as best as she could. He brushed her cheek slightly, giving her a soft grin try to calm her. "I promised you that I would come, didn't I?"

Nodding, she let herself smile at his words. "I know I'm being stupid, getting upset like this. But, I can't help it."

Ed released the girl's hand, placing it to her tiny waist. Gently keeping his hand upon her chin, he pulled the mechanic into him, letting her lips meet his own. It was a deep kiss, almost as if they were alone. They knew the group was probably was watching with surprise and stares of shock. But it didn't matter anymore.

Pulling apart, Winry quickly moved to hug him about his neck. She clung to him, letting her fingers run through his hair one last time. "I'll call you as soon as I get back to the shop." She whispered into his ear. "I promise."

"All aboard!" the conductor of the train shouted, give the cue for the two of them to head back to where the others stood. "This is the final boarding call! All aboard!" Taking hold of her hand once more, they hurried up the platform once again. There were no more tears or sadness, only high spirits. Winry wiped her eyes dry in one swift movement as they approached the others, who all had smug expressions on their faces from the scene they couldn't help but oversee.

Stopping in front of the door to the train, Winry quickly gave Ed one last hug and a quick kiss on the lips. Smiling at him, she started inside, "I love you, Edo." She said, causing the group to let the eyes widen with surprise.

"Love you too," he said without a single falter or stutter of the words. There was no red tint to his cheeks or signs that his heart was racing in his chest. He wore a simple smile on his face, as if it were something normal for him to say in front of everyone. Releasing his hold on her hand, Ed let the girl vanish into the car.

Stepping back to let the conductor shut the door, the young alchemist moved back to the rest of the group. Placing one hand into his pocket, he watched the lines of windows for what he knew would happen. Sure enough, the girl opened the window to her seat. Sticking her head out of the window, she gave one more wave goodbye as the train began to start out of the station. The group returned the action, waving and saying goodbye with as she slowly disappeared from sight. The train began to pick up speed as it rolled out of the station, heading out into the country.

Bringing his arm down, Ed watched the train disappear. The whistle echoed over from the distance, making him smile a bit. 'See ya again soon Winry.' He thought to himself, nodding a bit.

"Well Edward," the voice of Hughes began, causing him to look over his shoulder. The man had his arm about his wife's shoulders still though his smug expression gave the young man a bad feeling in his stomach. "I'm guessing something good happened after we had our little talk, huh?"

Snickering a bit, the young man shoved his hands into his pockets. "Ya could say that." He told, turning away from him. As he began to move away, he looked to the tall suite of armor. "Come on Al. We have work to do at the library. I was thinking about something I found in one of the older texts about the stone. We can start there."

"Uh…okay brother." The armor echoed, sounding slightly confused.

"Not so fast Full Metal," Roy's voice interjected, causing the two young men to turn to face him. The Colonel stood tall with his arms crossed above his chest. With just a glance at the man, anyone could tell that he was freezing. His teeth slightly chattered as his eyes narrow at the pair. "There is still the matter of the ballroom."

Edward raised an eyebrow at the comment, "What about it?"

Smirking, the man tossed some of the hair from his eyes, "You need to go and help them de-frost the walls and repair the windows that you decided to transmute that evening. After all, you did do all that just to impress your girlfriend." He told smugly, "The work crew is waiting for you now. I suggest you head over there now."

But the words did nothing but make the young man smirk even more. Starting off down the platform, Ed simply waved it off. "I'll get right on that Colonel." He told with sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, by the way!" he began, causing the adults to look at him with question. Turning on his heels, Ed stared back at the older man, keeping his cool manner about him. The content and happy expression had left his face being replaced with a sly look that Al knew all too well as being a bad sign. "Do you always visit the dorms at four in the morning? Or was that just because you sneaking out of Lieutenant Hawkeye's room?"

The words completely blindsided Roy, making him unable to speak or react. Both Maes and Gracia looked to their friend with surprise and a bit of laughter in their voice as they watched the man's face slowly turn a charming shade of pink. Even if he wanted to react, the two Elric brothers had already started down the platform at a sprint. Ed waved behind him to the Hughes', saying that he would see them later. They could hear Al was lecturing his older brother for saying such a thing. But the blond was too busy snickering as he continued to run as fast as his feet could take him.

"Damnit Edward!" Roy shouted after the young man, outstretching his hand to reveal his alchemy gloves upon his fingers. Placing his hand out, the man shook in the cold as he attempted to snap his fingers. As he did so, he found disappointment in seeing barely a spark form in his hands. Shoving his hands back into the folded position, Roy Mustang let a shiver run down his spine as the two vanished from sight. Turning to the small family, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I hate winter." He growled under his breath, turning to head back to head inside.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Ah the end. After a year of writing, its finally over. So sad. I just would like to thank everyone who commented and stayed with this story for the whole time that I was working on it. Especially my roommate, Rhysel Ash, who gave me many sad puppy dog faces to finish it. I thought this was a nice story to finish up now, what with the holidays upon us and it just seemed to fit into this time of year. This will also sadly be my last FMA fanfiction. Thank you again to everyone who made this story such a great success.  
Don't forget to keep on reading and reviewing!

Happy Holidays everyone!


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